


Everybody Wants To Be A Cat

by thefluffcat



Category: Free!
Genre: Angst, Cat antics ensue, Cats + Swimming boys, Comedy, Did I mention fluff?, Fluff, Fluff with a loose plot, Friendship, M/M, Slow Build, Supernatural Elements, The comedy portion consisting of my A+ sense of humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2018-08-10 19:46:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 57,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7858729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefluffcat/pseuds/thefluffcat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haruka Nanase wakes up one morning to find that something is not quite right. That something being he is now a cat; tail, whiskers, four paws, and all. To say this was a surprise is an understatement. Luckily he can always count on his friends to be there for him. But as they keep running into dead ends Haruka starts to wonder if he will never become human again, and if maybe he would prefer it that way?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Catastrophe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I would just like to start off by saying thanks for giving my work a chance! I am new to writing fanfic so I apologize in advance for any mistakes. But my Free! obsession is still in full swing from watching the Starting Days movie and I need to let it out somehow.  
> So without further ado, here's the first chapter! :)

The air was stuffy and warm as Haruka started to wake up. He blinked open his eyes to the filtered light coming through the fabric of his blanket. Ah, so that's why it was too warm, he must have pulled the covers up higher while he was asleep. Annoyed, he reached out to push the blanket away, but found himself unable to get it to cooperate with him. Huh. He didn't remember his blanket being this huge.

He tried once again to push off the covers, but the weight seemed to have tripled overnight. Not to mention his inability to get a grasp on the material.

Frustrated, Haruka tossed and rolled a few times, and slipped off the side of the bed with 'thump,' bringing part of the blanket with him.

Something was definitely not right.

The bed was higher up than he remembered, he thought, as he looked up at the towering structure, and the way he moved his muscles didn't feel right... It was hard to process what exactly wasn't right but there was something amiss for sure.

Trying to stand up, Haruka found that he couldn't get his legs to work the way he wanted to; his balance was lost, and he quickly tipped forward onto all fours.

Okay, well, that was weird. Maybe he was still just half asleep... But that thought was quickly pushed to the side as Haru looked down at his... Paw? He stared at it for a moment in confusion. Trying to stretch his fingers, he instead brought out a set of curved claws that clicked on the wood flooring.

_What?!_ Now in a panic, Haruka scrambled to his feet ( _paws?_ ) and ran to the nearest mirror. Only to find that he can't reach it. Located a couple feet off the ground was a long, rectangular mirror, that he had in his bathroom. His eyes quickly darted around the room to find something to stand on. Aha! With the toilet seat down, Haruka took aim. He bunched up his haunches with a wiggle, and launched himself up. This was surprisingly easier than he thought it would be, and he almost overshot his landing site.

Once situated, he turned towards the mirror and his blue eyes widened in shock, confusion, and horror as a pure black sleek cat stared back at him. What was going on here?! The cat looking back at him was definitely himself; which was confirmed by moving his arm up and making a small wave at the mirror using his paw. His mind blanked for a second as he just stared at his cat-self in the mirror.

He considered the possibility that this was all a dream, but after an attempt at nipping his arm to wake himself up, he concluded that he was indeed awake.

This created more questions than answers; stuff like this happened all the time in dreams. But reality? No. Impossible. Maybe he was just hallucinating... Ate some bad mackerel. The fish last night did have an off taste to it...

Behind him, his tail started to flick in agitation. The sudden involuntary movement made him jump in surprise, making him lose his balance on the toilet seat. Slipping off, he managed to land on his feet, like he is suppose to do as a cat anyways.

Turning his neck to look at his new appendage, Haruka had to admit to himself that even if it was food poisoning or some illness, there is no way he could so vividly feel the curl and sway of this tail.

He needed water to help deal with this situation. That would clear his head enough to try and figure out what could possibly be going on here.

Walking over to the tub he stared at the tall white walls of the appliance and then looked to the knob used to actually turn on the water. No way would he be able to get a grip on the knob with these paws.

Haruka huffed in annoyance. How was he supposed to have his morning bath now?

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Makoto quickly glanced at his watch as he made his way up the stairs to Haru's house. They had plenty of time before school started but he knew Haru probably hadn't eaten breakfast yet and would take the time to grill mackerel whether short for time or not.

Once reaching Haru's front door he knocked out of habit. Not really expecting an answer. And after a couple seconds slide the unlocked door open. "He really shouldn't leave this door unlocked all the time," he muttered to himself as he entered the entryway.

"Haru?,"he called out as he removed his shoes before walking further in.  
No answer. He was probably in the bathtub like usual. With a sigh Makoto made his way over to the bathroom and slide open the door fully expecting Haru to be sitting in the long cooled water, still soaking till the last possible second.

But what he was met with was an empty room and a surprisingly empty bathtub. "Huh... maybe he overslept." Quickly making his way upstairs he started mentally preparing an argument explaining that yes he understood he still hasn't had his morning soak but there was no time for that now.

His bedroom door was partly open so Makoto was able to peek inside but Haru wasn't there either. The covers weren't made and were half hanging off the side of the bed, bunched up on the floor. Where could he be? He wasn't in the kitchen when Makoto passed by.. He wouldn't have left for school without him would he? What if something happened?! What if there was a family emergency and his parents needed him right away?! What if- His train of thought was abruptly cut off as something dark rushed past his legs and into the room.

A startled yelp slipped through his lips as he jumped back a step or two. He looked down to see a black cat with blue eyes staring up at him. The cat opened its mouth and proceeded to let out a series of loud meows. The cat quickly padded in circles around him with its tail twitching in agitation.

Letting out a sigh Makoto clutched his chest in relief. It was only a cat.

Stopping it's insistent meowing the cat rose on its hind legs and reached up with its front paws grabbing at Makoto's leg.

Surprised Makoto bent down to the cats level and proceeded to try and pet the cat. "Ah.. Hello? Is Haru taking care of you? You wouldn't happen to know where he is would you?" The cat backed away from the attempts at petting, giving him an indignant look and letting out another meow. "Eh I guess you don't like being pet huh?" He couldn't recall seeing this cat around here before. Which made him wonder where it had come from.

Makoto straightened back up and turned to continue his search of his missing best friend. The cat could wait for now or they might be late for school.

While heading to the stairs he pulled out his phone and sent a text. He knew Haru rarely used his cell but at this point he was running low on ideas. As he was about halfway down the stairs the cat darted in front of him, almost making him lose his balance. He let out a squeak and quickly grabbed the railing.

The cat turned around and let out another meow. This one longer and more whiny than the others.

After his heart rate returned to normal Makoto decided that carrying the cat down the rest of the stairs would be safer. But as he reached for the cat it jumped away and quickly padded down the rest of the stairs and sat down at the bottom. This cat didn't seem to like the idea of being held either.

After checking the rest of the house with the black cat trailing after him Makoto concluded that Haru had most likely gone to school himself this morning. Which was odd but has happened before in the past. Only when Makoto was too sick to go with him... Did he just want some alone time? Was Haru mad at him for some reason? Shaking his head to dispel that thought. Of course not. They had walked home together like normal yesterday and Haru had seemed his usual self. Besides being somewhat obscure about why Amakata-san had called Haru to her office after school.

Deciding he should hurry and get to school to sort this all out he put on his shoes and was already closing the door to Haru's house when the cat slipped through the door to the outside. "Ah!" he yelled as he quickly tried to avoid squishing the cat in the doorframe.

This cat just wouldn't stop following him. Not that he was complaining since it was a beautiful cat and normally he adored spending time with any animal. But right now he was too preoccupied to play with the cat no matter how tempting.

"I'm sorry little guy, I don't have time to play right now and I don't have anything to feed you," he said as he scratched his neck nervously. Something about this cat was unnerving as it stared at him with those intelligent blue eyes. It was almost like the cat had something important to tell him.

The cat flicked it tail and its whiskers twitched as it made its way closer to Makoto before letting out another "mrrrow" this one sounding more pleading in nature. "I really am sorry" he said as his shoulders slumped, he really had a hard time resisting cats. "But I need to get going".

He started jogging the rest of the way down the stairs, careful that the cat wouldn't try and trip him again, constantly looking back to just see the black cat sitting at the top of the stairs staring at him. It looked annoyed and almost seemed to be glaring at him. As if he should feel guilty for daring to leave without it. What was up with this cat?

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Haru will not admit to panicking. Panicking is not something he does. He is calm, cool and collected, that is who he is. He has to be. But admitting it or not, panicking is what he did for the first hour after he woke up this morning and only got worse as Makoto refused to listen to him.

Of course he had forgotten that to Makoto everything sounded like meows to him. Once realizing his mistake Haru quietly followed Makoto around the house as he thought of ways to try and communicate with him. But he still hadn't thought of a plan by the time Makoto was descending down the steps so instead choose to sit and glare at nothing in particular.

Maybe he should write a note...or type it out...but looking down at his paws he dismissed those ideas as he would have trouble typing with these, let alone be able to hold a pencil.

This was all so annoying. He didn't even know why he was stuck like this. Which is why he needed his friend's help.

Well one thing is for sure, sitting here won't do any good. So he made the decision to go to school and try to communicate again with Makoto. Or maybe even Nagisa, Kou, or Rei. Anyone at this point is better than no one.

Getting to his feet Haru started running in the direction of school. Having to get used to the way his front and hind legs worked together to propel his body fast along the ground. Almost tripping a few times, but he quickly got used to this new means of movement. What was harder to get used to was not having shoes. As the bare pads of his feet scrapped against the rough cement and a pebble got lodged between his toes he wondered how cats always dealt with this kind of annoyance.

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Arriving at school Makoto quickly made his way up to homeroom that he shared with Haru. Only to find that the black haired boy wasn't there.

Asking a few fellow classmates if they had seen him, he was met with negatives replies and was just going to ask another student when the teacher entered and everyone had to take their seat.

Roll call was taken but when they got to Haru's name there was silence. The teacher looked up from their chart and locked eyes with Makoto. Raising an eyebrow; they clearly were expecting an explanation from him.

"Ah.. s-sorry I don't know where he is but I don't think Haru is coming to school today" he stuttered.

The teacher looked somewhat surprised at his response but nodded and continued with roll call. A few of the students glanced over at him as if to confirm that Haru was indeed not with the brunet. They seemed somewhat shocked as well and proceeded to whisper in hushed tones.

This was going to be a long day.

~ ~ ~

The day passed torturously slow as Makoto kept looking at the clock, willing it to speed up. The sooner the day ended the sooner he could continue his search for his missing friend.

At lunch time he had met up with Nagisa and Rei asking them if they had any idea where Haru could be. Being just as much in the dark as he was, they suggested calling his parents just in case it was a family emergency that dragged him away from home so suddenly. And after school he planned on doing just that.

What he was NOT going to do was Nagisa's suggestion to leave a plate of mackerel under a propped up box, attached to a string, in an attempt to catch 'this quiet and reclusive species known as Haru-chan'.

Makoto shook his head as he recalled that idea. He was sure Nagisa picked that up from watching nature documentaries with Rei.

They had decided to still do swim practice for the day as there was a good chance if Haru was around he would still show up to swim even if he skipped school for whatever reason.

Unlocking the gate and entering the pool area Makoto noted that he was the first to arrive. Taking on the duty as captain, he went over to check the chlorine levels before changing into his swimsuit.

As he approached the pool a black shape caught his eye. Turning his attention towards the dark clump kicking up water he let out a gasp as he recognized the clump of fur as a cat.

_CAN CATS EVEN SWIM?!_ his thoughts screamed loudly. He knew cats hated water, so that meant they couldn't swim right? Making a quick decision Makoto dove into the water intent on saving the cats life.

His clothes logged him down but he was closing in on the cat when he recognized the blue eyes of the feline as the ones belonging to the cat that had been in Haru's house this morning. To his surprise the cat didn't appear to be struggling, in fact it seemed perfectly content on paddling through the water. But as Makoko approached it looked towards him and allowed itself to be picked up and held against his chest so the cats head was positioned on top of his shoulder.

Swimming over to the edge of the pool Makoto set the cat on the ledge so he could have both hands free to hoist himself out. Once back on the dry concrete he turned to pick up the cat once more, just in time to see the cat jump right back into the pool. "H-hey!"

The cat was paddling small circles close to the edge of the pool where he sat. It almost sounded like a motorboat as it loudly purred into the water.

"Hey now you shouldn't be in the pool you could drown or get sucked into the filter or something" he anxiously said as he worriedly looked onto the cat. Although it seemed perfectly happy with staying in the water.

He stuck his hand partially into the water palm up and made cooing sounds in an attempt to bring the cat within reach. "Come here, I won't hurt you, I just want to help you out of the pool"

It seemed at first that the cat hadn't even heard him. Not even a flick of the ears. But a few seconds later the black cat started to paddle its way closer to his hand. Keeping its head perfectly raised to avoid sucking in water and its tail a streamline shape as it trailed behind it, Makoto was impressed by its fluid movements in the water. Each leg kicking in perfect unison to break the waters edge. He never knew cats could swim like this. It's almost as if it belonged in the water more than land.

When the cat was a foot's length away from his hand it stopped, paddling in place, and looked up into his eyes. The shades of blue within it's iris shining and reflecting the waters surface. It didn't meow or make a sound but Makoto felt it was trying to tell him something. His brow starting to scrunch up in contemplation he missed the small huff of bubbles the cat let out in annoyance.

While Makoto was still concentrating on what the cat could possibly have to tell a human it swam the rest of the distance, closing the gap, and placed one of its paws into the palm of his hand that was still hanging in the water.

Jerking back to attention Makoto stared in confusion at the cat's actions. It's almost as if it was giving Makoto it's paw to pull it out of the pool... Staring more intently into the cats blue eyes this time he noticed that he recognized that blue... And that shade of black fur ... "Haru-chan...?", he questioned hesitantly, as he winced at his own question. Of course it isn't Haru. Haru isn't a cat. So stupid. At least no one is around to see him talking to a cat.

But then the cat meowed back in response. Making Makoto jump slightly. Ridiculous. That was just a meow not a response. But...

"Haru?"

"Mrrow"

Quickly scooping up the black cat from the pool, he held it an arms length away and stared into its blue eyes. "Meow twice if you understand me..."

"Mew-meow"

Dumbfounded Makoto continued to hold the cat for another minute just staring. There is no way this cat is Haru. His childhood best friend. His friend that he would recognize no matter what... no matter what... Eyes widening he set the cat down. "Haru..."

The cat let out a short chirp in response. Flicking it's ear to chase off a bug that was getting too close. Then turning once again towards the pool. But this time before jumping back in the cat was caught midair by two large hands as Makoto let out a long drawn out "Haruuuuu"

There was no doubt about it, this cat is Haru. He would recognize him anywhere, and apparently as any species.

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Haruka had arrived at school around noon, after having to climb a tree to avoid a dog that got away from its owner. He had stayed up in the tree an extra 20 minutes just to make sure it was really gone before continuing on his way.

By the time he reached the school entrance the midday sun had turned his black pelt into a heat trap. He wasn't entirely sure he wouldn't catch on fire at this rate. He could feel the sweat escaping through the pads of his feet and was somewhat panting as he approached the side of the building. He needed to get to the pool.

He squeezed his body through the bars of the fence and dove right into the cool water. It felt so refreshing to wash the heat right off his fur. It wasn't until he needed a breath of air that he paddled to the surface.

The water accepted him and he accepted it back. He wasn't afraid of drowning and somehow swimming in this new body came naturally to him. Like most things involving water did.

He soon lost track of the time and before he knew it there was a huge splash and the water was disturbed.

_Makoto._ They had never needed words in the past and he hoped that they wouldn't need any now as he tried again to communicate with his friend.

It was strange that he could still understand human speech as a cat but maybe normal cats could understand humans too? In any case it's good that he could, so he was able to respond to Makoto and get this whole thing straightened out.

Currently being held in Makoto's arms Haruka jerked his head around as the gate to the pool squeaked open. "Ooooh! Mako-chan what have you got there?!" Nagisa yelled as he skipped his way over. Stopping about a foot from them.

Pink eyes widened as he took in the drenched sight of Makoto still in his uniform and the black bundle in his arms with its fur sticking in every direction.

"Wah?! It's a cat! Did he fall in the pool? I thought cats had super good balance though so that wouldn't happen.."

Makoto scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Um... well, you see."

But he was saved from further attempts at explanation when Nagsia quickly switched his questioning train of thought from the past to the present as he reached out to try and pet the cat.

Haruka tried to shuffle away from the out-stretched hand but couldn't get very far in his current position. Only forcing Makoto to readjust his grip on the shivering form. "Ah Nagisa! You probably shouldn't! He doesn't like being pet very much"

"It's okay Mako-chan I just want to try one thing..."

Haruka's ears snapped to the side as a successive series of loud snapping sounds were created from Nagisa's fingers. Quickly turning his head to find the source of that sound he was met with a long index finger right in front of his nose.

"Boop"

A light pressure was applied to his nose and just as quickly it was gone. Retreating his neck back as far as it would go Haruka attempted to glare at Nagisa. His ears flattened against his head and tail twitching. _Did he just boop me?!_

Putting more effort into wiggling free this time Makoto in response lowered him down towards the ground where he jumped the rest of the way. With a shake of his fur Haruka retreated several feet away from the two to sit down. Starting to lick at his crumpled fur before realizing what he was doing. _Gross.._ Stopping for a second with his leg sticking out in the air and tongue half out of his mouth. But the urge to fix his messy fur was so intense he decided to just give in and continued to clean himself. He didn't understand the urge but it was on-pare with his need to jump into every body of water he came across.  
Which was scary in itself. How many cat traits is his going to fall victim to?

~ ~ ~

Watching from a distance Haruka tucked his legs underneath himself as he got comfortable. Rei and Kou had shown up a few minutes ago and the club members were currently hunched in a circle arguing with each other. From here Haruka could still hear what they were saying with his improved cat hearing, but chose to ignore the conversation once it started going in circles.

"That's completely preposterous! Not only does that defy all logic but is simply impossible by scientific means."

"Nuhuh. Body swapping is totally possible! Haven't you seen Freaky Friday? Or! Or what if he made a wish on a shooting star and it came true!?"

"Why would he wish to become a cat...?" Kou said as she gave a doubtful expression.

Nagisa shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know! So he could eat all the mackerel he wanted?!"

"..I still don't believe that cat is Haruka-senpai," Rei muttered.

"Guys! guys!" Makoto interrupted. "Here I'll prove it."

Haruka stood up as the group approached him. He was slightly unnerved at how much taller they all were than him. Having to crane his neck up to get a better look at their faces.

"Haru? Could you meow twice if that's you?"

Complying with Makoto's request he meowed twice if only to quickly end this argument and start to focus on the real issue here. How were they going to turn him back into a human.

Rei and Kou still looked skeptical but Nagisa was even more enthusiastic than before.

"AHA! IT REALLY IS HARU-CHAN! THATS SO COOL!"

"Ah...I don't think I would use the word 'cool' to describe the situation, but I'm glad you believe me now."

"I'm still not convinced," adjusting his glasses Rei gave Makoto an apologetic smile. "It's not that I doubt your word Makoto-senpai but...you must admit this situation is somewhat hard to believe."

"No! No! I understand!" he waved him off as he continued, "I wouldn't believe me either, but... I can just tell its him... Plus you hadn't seen him swimming! I didn't even think cats could swim, let alone like this."

Kou tapped her finger against her cheek in thought, "you two do have that weird psychic connection.."

"Ah? I don't think I would call it a psychic connection exactly..?"

Haruka sighed in exasperation. Okay screw what he said earlier about not being able to write, he was going to try anyways.

Grabbing a stick between his teeth he walked over to a patch of dirt that was around the pool area and started to write. 'Write' being a loose term as he attempted to drag the stick through the dirt.

His ears twitched as he heard the footfalls of his friends approach. But didn't turn around as he was too engrossed in his project.

Finally finished he dropped the stick next to him and turned his head to stare up at them.

Straightening up from her bent over position Kou put her hands on her hips, "Well I guess that settles that."

Looking back at his work Haruka was pleased that it was at least legible.

In the dirt, made up of jagged and squiggly lines, the word "Free" was carved.

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Cutting swim practice short for the day the team started to head in the direction of Haru's house, all the while discussing what the plan of action should be.

"Soooooo basically we don't know what caused this, or how to fix it?? Sounds like we're screwed to me."

"Way to be optimistic about this Nagisa," Kou remarked with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm just tellin' it how it is! Besides," he quickly skipped a step over to Haru, who was still currently being held in Makoto's arms. "It's not all bad! Haru-chan is so much cuter like this."

Attempting to boop him on the nose once more Nagisa stuck out his index finger only to have it swatted away by an outstretched paw. Quickly retreating his hand Nagisa pouted in response to the glare he was receiving.

"Nagisa I don't think you should do that, Haru doesn't seem to be a big fan of it." Makoto scolded as he readjusted his hold on his friend turned feline. He could feel the low growl rumbling from Haru's chest letting him know he was angry. Not to mention the tail that kept flicking him in disapproval.

Finally arriving at the steps leading up to their homes he could feel claws digging into his shirt and lightly pinching his skin as the uneven terrain jostled his passenger somewhat. Passing his house and turning a corner they reached the Nanase residence. Using a spare key kept under the flower pot to unlock the door they one by one entered and removed their shoes, setting down their bags at the entrance.

Once everyone was seated in the living room they exchanged silent looks. No one knowing what to say.

Of course it was Nagisa who broke the silence first. "Okay....so now what?"

"Hmmm"

"Ummmm"

"Ah...."

They probably all looked like a bunch of gapping fish, opening and closing their mouths but no real words coming out. But it was understandable since it's not like he or the others had ever encountered anything supernatural in nature before. Scrunching his eyebrows together in thought Makoto decided he needed to make the first suggestion, he was the team captain after all. "Well there are a lot of things to consider; how this happened, how can we reverse it, how long it will last, etc. but a more immediate concern that we can actually do something about is how we are going to cover for him. The school will question if he's out for more than a few days..."

Casting a worried look down at Haru, who currently sitting in the loaf position, he really doubted calling the school up and saying 'sorry Haruka Nanase was transformed into a cat he can't make it to his classes for a little while' would fly with the principal.

Pushing his glasses further up Rei had a contemplative look. "I do believe having Makoto senpai's mother call the school saying Haruka senpai has the flu could buy us a week, at most. Considering Tachibana-san is his emergency contact by permission of his own mom."

"That could work." Kou agreed.

"Except for the fact that my mom wouldn't lie to the school!!"

"But she wouldn't know its a lie if you lie to her about the lie, so it wouldn't be like she's lying if the lie she tells is the truth to her."

Kou snapped her head towards Nagisa and gave a exasperated look. "Half of that was pure babble!"

Nagisa puffed out his cheeks in annoyance. "Whatever! The point is you gotta lie to you mom mako-chan!"

"W-what?! I can't do that! It's..its just wrong. Plus I've never lied to her before I don't think I could fool her."

"Well statistically speaking if you've never lied to her before your chances of her believing this lie are far greater than someone who lies all the time and has been caught on occasion."

His shoulders sagging as he lets out a sigh. "That's not the point Rei! I'll just feel bad!"

"Mrrow!"

Looking down Makoto saw Haru pushing his cellphone over with the tip of nose. Stopping just a couple inches from his knees to sit down with the phone in front of his paws.

"You agree with this plan too huh?"

"Mrrw.." He flicked his ear and looked to the side almost guilty but after a second looked back up. As if to say 'I don't like lying to her either but we don't have any other choice'.

"Okay fine... only so the school doesn't worry, so that they don't call your parents, which would lead to calling the police who would form a search party, and they obviously would need to interrogate us since we know you best, and maybe even the FBI would get involved if they knew about the human turned cat part, since that's something the US government would want to know about right?! and oh my god this can get blown out of hand so easily! What if my mom finds out I'm lying and calls the police herself?!"

The rest of the group exchanged looks between each other as Makoto dialed his house number, 'who jumps to conclusions like that?'

After 2 rings the call was picked up. "Hi! Mom!?" His voice a little too high pitched.

He could already tell this was going to be the longest phone call he's ever made.

And after a grueling 15 minutes on the phone, and 5 of those minutes being Kou jumping in to make sure the conversation didn't derail, they finally convinced Tachibana-san to call the school and let them know Haru wouldn't be attending for awhile because he is bedridden.

Deciding nothing much else could be done at the time, the team dispersed. Rei promising to do some research concerning this phenomenon via the library, while Nagisa promised to do some 'research' of his own via forum websites.

Having worked out with his mom earlier, Makoto prepared to stay the night over Haru's house. Getting out the extra futon and blankets.

Settling down with his laptop Makoto began his search for possible solutions.

After half an hour of clicking links to dead end forum conversations and unhelpful yahoo answers Makoto was beginning to lose steam. There were only so many unhelpful suggestions you could read before you started to go insane.

"Thanks but no thanks xXxdino_gurlxXx but I'm not going to try dark magic unless I become really desperate."

Clicking off the web browser he leaned back into his pillow digging the palms of his hand into eyes. This was seriously exhausting.

Haru, who had been quietly watching his struggle from the top of the nightstand jumped down onto the floor and started slowly padding over to the base of the futon. With a balanced leap he flew up and landed next to Makoto. Only to step up into his stomach which caused Makoto to release a puff of air.

"Ouf! Haru that hurt," lifting Haru off that particular spot and settling the cat next to him. "Sorry but I don't seem to be having much luck with finding a solution..."

Letting out a long sigh he reached over to pat Haru on the head. "You wouldn't happen to have any clue as how to how or why this happened would you?" Not that he would get a clear answer but if anyone knew anything it would be the person who got turned into the cat right?

Blue eyes blinked up at him. A look of concentration passed over the cats face before he shook his head no.

"Well it was worth a shot."

A few more hours of searching the Internet was all he could handle before he felt his eyelids grow heavy and caught himself starting to nod off.

Calling it quits for the night he quickly brushed his teeth and turned off the lights around the house. Haru trailing behind him and almost getting under his feet a few times, but disappeared when Makoto started to head back upstairs.

Finally able to settle under the covers on the futon he shifted a few times to get comfortable. Staring up at the familiar ceiling of Haru's bedroom, illuminated by the faint moonlight streaming in from the window. This had been a long day. The anxiety of it all finally taking its toll on him. Just as he was starting to fall asleep he felt the futon shift beneath him and soon felt a furry body pushing his way into the crook of his arm. The black bundle making a few circles before curling in close and resting his head upon Makoto's arm.

He was somewhat startled as it was unlike Haru to be touchy with anyone and Makoto had simply assumed Haru would be sleeping in his own bed a few feet to the left.

Out of nowhere guilt seized up Makoto's chest. Haru had spent an entire day stuck as a cat. He must have been terrified at first... and may still be. And there was nothing Makoto could do to help. He had spent all those hours on the internet but he knew before even booting up the laptop that there wouldn't be an answer to their problem. He doubted even Rei would find anything helpful in the hundreds of books he would have to search through.

The truth is, they were dealing with something supernatural here. Magic and fantastical things like this just don't happen in real life. Maybe in some shounen manga but not for them.

He felt tears start to prickle at his eyes and he blinked rapidly in hopes of dispelling them.

Using his unoccupied arm he reached over to stroke the cat's back. His hand glided over the smooth fur a few times and in a low voice he whispered a reassurance, "don't worry Haru we'll find a way to change you back, I promise."

Haru swiveled his head around to stare at the arm touching him.

"Ah sorry!" Makoto quickly retrieved his arm once he realized what he was doing.

Blue eyes leveled a look at him. But after a second gently bumped his head into his hand to communicate that he was forgiven.

Going back to resting his head on Makoto's arm Haru stared up at the window giving view to the night sky. It was hard to read what Haru was thinking as a cat but the slight trembling he felt every so often gave him a good enough idea. He was scared. Scared that Makoto's promise, while having good intentions, is impossible to fulfill.

Silent minutes passed but soon the two fell into a fitful slumber. Subconsciously Haru buried himself closer to Makoto, while the arm wrapped him closer in his sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case it isn't obvious the POV switches between Haru and Makoto in-between section breaks.  
> Anddd okay, i'm going to be honest here, with college and work i'm not sure how often ill be able to update.. but! I don't give up on anything! I will finish this! Besides, I already know how I want to end the fic, its just a matter of building up to it


	2. Cat's Out Of The Bag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang finds a possible lead. Rin feels left out. And Haru is still an adorable fluffball, but with hints of angst now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! It only took me 2 weeks to get this out! Not bad considering how busy i've been. I'll try and keep up that pace since i'm pretty excited about the next chapter. Thank you everyone who commented and left kudos! I didn't know what to expect when first making this so i'm pretty pumped from the response I got :D
> 
> p.s. I'm going to try and make every chapter title a cat pun or cat related expression, so hopefully I don't run out.

Haruka awoke to the sound of soft breathing and a chest rising and falling next to him.

Blinking away the sleep from his eyes a quick once over confirmed that his situation hadn't magically fixed itself overnight. Disappointed that he was still trapped as a cat he slowly made his way to the edge before jumping to the floor. Looking back he saw that Makoto was still sound asleep with his leg half hanging off the futon. It eased some of his worries knowing that his best friend was there for him. And grateful that Makoto had allowed him to sleep next to him last night. They hadn't shared a bed since they were grade schoolers but last night he needed someone to keep him grounded through this mess. And no one made him feel at ease as much as Makoto did.

Stretching out his muscles by arching his back and reaching out his front limbs he made his way out of the bedroom in hopes of having a morning bath. Only to remember he couldn't work the handles. He considered for a split second waking up Makoto to help him, but decided against it. They had stayed up late last night researching so he needed the sleep.

Annoyed he made his way outside through the back door, which he was able to slide open using sheer effort. And the fact that it hadn't been fully closed from last night. Which probably wasn't safe, but he left his backdoor unlocked sometimes and nothing had happened, so he wasn't too worried. This was a safe neighborhood and relatively safe town.

Once outside his target was spotted; the birdbath. Not the most glamorous bathtub he's ever used but it'll serve it's purpose.

Hopping up onto the rock next to it he was able to splash his way into the circular dish, which was smaller than he remembered. Maybe he should invest in a better birdbath? Even though the number of birds that use it is a small amount due to all the cats hanging around scaring them off.

Sighing in content Haruka allowed himself to sink into the water and close his eyes in bliss. Laying down the water only came up to mid belly, but beggars can't be choosers. It's good thing he had decided to clean this birdbath a few days ago before he had transformed otherwise he can only imagine how gross the water would have been.

Sitting peacefully in the water he failed to hear the paw steps rustling through the grass, making their way towards the birdbath.

"Hey! Who are you?" A female voice asked.

Startled, Haruka jumped up, almost tipping the birdbath over completely. He regained his balance with a wide stance and even wider eyes.

Looking around his eyes caught sight of the white ear tips of another cat. Crouching down and peeking his head over the edge blue eyes met green as he stared at a pure white cat settled down in the grass below.

"What? Fox got your tongue? It's a simple question. Also, can I ask what your doing in that bird bowl? Your gettin' all wet."

Not knowing how to respond Haruka stared blankly at the female cat below. Was he suppose to meow or is it just like talking normally... Besides who even is this cat.

Squinting at her he felt like he had seen her before. But he fed a lot of strays so it's possible she had gotten food here before.

Staring in silence the she-cat tipped her head to the side waiting for an answer. With no escape route in sight Haruka weighed his options. The cat didn't seem aggressive just genuinely curious so he decided to come down, albeit cautiously. Jumping onto the rock he had used to get up he paused once again to consider how a dumb a decision this potentially could be. He had seen cat fights before and knew he would lose if he got caught up in one. But nothing this cat said or did suggested she wanted a fight, so he took the last leap needed to reach the grass.

The white cat padded over to him and quickly started sniffing him. Startled for the second time within a minute he moved back several steps. His back arching involuntarily.

"What are you doing?!" He snapped.

Completely ignoring his reaction she continued on. "Hmm I haven't seen you before but for some reason your scent is strangely familiar... Are you one of those cats from the shore area? Those fellas actually like the water. Or at least don't mind it..."

What was with this cat? Are all cats this nosy? Deciding it was best just to agree and get this conversation over with he nodded in agreement. Haruka found that just agreeing with people was the fastest way to shut them up.

Unfortunately for him he forgot that humans and cats don't have the same social cues.

"What are you doing?"

"Huh?"

"That head bob thing you just did."

"Eh..." Oh geez. He really wanted to leave this awkward situation as soon as possible.

Just then another voice popped up from the direction of the bushes.

"Hey Snowfall who are you talking too?" A black and white patched tom-cat pushed his way out between the branches of the bush, making his way over to the two.

The new cat curled his lip back in distaste, "oh geez not another cat to steal our food." His golden eyes narrowing as he glared at Haruka.

This cat definitely didn't seem as friendly as the she-cat, _snowfall?_ , was. It was probably a male territory thing, and he didn't want to get involved in that. Though technically this was his house, therefore his territory...

Snowfall huffed, "it's not stealing since the two-leg leaves the food out for everyone to share."

Turning back towards Haruka she tried to reassure him, "don't pay any attention to this mousebrain over here," she jerked her head in the other cats direction. "He's just grumpy since it's so early in the morning."

A mumbled, "I'm not grumpy." was quietly spoken in reply.

"Anyways back to what I was saying before _someone_ rudely interrupted. Tell us more about yours-"

Luck was on Haruka's side as just then the back door slid open to reveal a tired looking Makoto complete with bed head hair.

The black and white tom-cat bolted away as soon as he heard the noise. Jumping back into the bushes from where he came. Guess he wasn't as tough as he tried to make himself seem. On the other hand Snowfall had remained exactly where she was by Haruka's side. Only stiffening somewhat out of surprise more than fear.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes Makoto called out, "Haru you out here?"

Green eyes darted around the yard till catching sight of the cats, immediately Makoto made his way over to them. "There you are! I woke up this morning and couldn't find you! I was worried you had transformed into an ant or something this time!" He chuckled at his own joke, but the accompanying smile seemed strained.

Haruka let out a sigh. That was just like his friend to worry too much. But he can't say those worries were unfounded considering his current predicament.

Their attention was diverted as Snowfall suddenly pushed past Haruka to rub up against Makoto's legs. Purring all the while, she wove around the brunette. Turning her head towards Haruka she stared expectantly at him.

"Well come on. The friendlier you are the more food they give! I have this two-leg trained to even rub me behind the ears," she stated proudly.

Just as she was finishing her statement Makoto bent over to rub the feline behind the ears just as she claimed.

Moving onto scratching her underneath her chin Makoto looked back up at Haruka. "Is this your new friend Haru? I'm pretty sure she's the one I always see hanging around the steps. You know, the one I nicknamed Yuki?"

Oh, so _that's_ why she had seemed familiar. Though he wasn't sure he would call this cat his friend after only one conversation, but he didn't fell like arguing.

After a few more minutes of watching Makoto make cooing sounds and continue to pamper the she-cat Haruka decided to interrupt this fluff fest with a loud meow. They needed to get back on task.

"Ah right.. sorry Haru," he chuckled nervously. "Let's eat breakfast and see if the others have any updates?"

Disappointed that the attention was no longer on her, she made a disgruntled face in Haru's general direction.

Ignoring the look aimed at him, Haru padded his way back to the house.

Taking a few bounds towards him she called out. "Hey! You shouldn't go in there! The two-leg who lives here is nice and all, but he doesn't like us going inside his den."

Just tossing an unbothered look behind him Haruka continued inside.

"Suit yourself..." she muttered under he breath before heading off into the bushes. "That kid sure is a strange one."

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Settling down around the low table Makoto scrolled through his recent messages. He had unread messages from Rei, Nagisa, and Kou. And a couple missed calls from Rin that he would get to later. Crossing his fingers that one of them had good news to report he opened the first message from Kou.

[Kou]: okay sooooo good news and bad news. which do you want to hear first? actually,,, you have no choice, it's bad news first! I found zerooooo leads on how to solve this problem. Good news is that i managed to reschedule the swim meet we had planned for tomorrow with my brother and his team! :) so we are safe there!

Well Makoto couldn't say he was surprised she ran into a dead end just like he did... But at least she saved them the trouble of having to explain to Samazuka why water devoted Haru couldn't show up to swim practice.

Deciding to try his best option next he opened Rei's message.

[Rei]: I am deeply sorry Makoto-senpai, but it completely slipped my mind yesterday that the library would be closed by the time I got there. So I was unable to fulfill my end of the task! But not to worry, I will make time in the morning to continue my research!

Oh Rei.... Makoto had been counting on him to find the answers. But set closing times are out of their control so not much they can do about it.

Glancing to side he watched Haru still eating his grilled mackerel breakfast. Makoto had placed a stool beside the table so Haru was able to sit and reach the plate laid out before him.

He was hoping to have good news to tell him, but that didn't look too likely at this point. So bracing himself he opened Nagsia's messages next. All 20 of them...

[Nagisa]: REPORT #1: nothing (▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ ̿)

[Nagisa]: REPORT #2: nothing (▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ ̿)

[Nagisa]: update: still nothing

[Nagisa]: nothing

[Nagisa]: okay I didn't find anything to help Haru BUT I found a cute cat video! I'll send the link :3c

[Nagisa]: (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ [cat playing the piano app](http://catsofinstagram.com/post/148399335241/from-imfondue-i-am-a-pianist-twitterweek#.V9BN9LWClmp)

[Nagisa]: soooo RinRin just texted me to text you guys to answer your phones!!

[Nagisa]: he wants to know why we chickened out of the swim meet?? Gou wasn't very clear I guess

[Nagisa]: if you don't text me back I'm going to just tell him the truth !!!

[Nagisa]: okay I'm doingg ittttt ♪~ ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ

[Nagisa]: last chanceeee

[Nagisa]: I f*c k ed uP

[Nagisa]: nOW HE THIBKS WERE JUST AVOIDING HIM !?! (ಥ﹏ಥ)

[Nagisa]: you would think someone with shark teeth implants wouldn't be this sensitive

[Nagisa]: lemme try explaining it again to him

[Nagisa]: he sTILL doesn't believe me.... n o n b e l i e v e r (¬_¬)

[Nagisa]: well okay we're screwed

[Nagisa]: he said "if Haru is just going to 'pussy' out he'll just have to drag him over to Samezuka himself"

[Nagisa]: LOL i wonder if that pun was intentional XD

[Nagisa]: welp I think I've done enough damage for today ~(˘▾˘~) see ya at school

Setting down his phone Makoto put his face in his hands and let out a sigh. He loved Nagisa, really, but keeping secrets was not one of his strong points, at all.

Peeking through his fingers he could see Haru, now finished with his meal, staring at him in expectation. Obviously waiting for Makoto to inform him on the situation. Although his reactions to the texts should be enough of a giveaway.

"Well it seems ... we are going to have to explain this all again, but to Rin this time."

Haru's eyes narrowed in displeasure. He probably didn't want more people to know about his current predicament.

Throwing up his hands in defense, "Hey now, Rin can be reasonable when its important."

The blue eyes would not relent.

"We don't have much of a choice here, you were suppose to race him this Saturday."

That seemed to win over the argument as Haru turned his head away with a flick of the tail. Clearly still not pleased with the decision. They both knew how Rin was when it came to racing and nothing less than Haru being sick would stop the race from taking place... Hmm maybe saying he was sick would work? They had already told his mom and the school that Haru was sick, might as well continue with that story. As much as he hated lying, it was better than letting Rin think they were avoiding him. Right?

"..Okay how about we tell him your sick instead?"

After a few seconds a hesitant nod was given in response. He probably didn't like the idea of lying to their friend either.

It took him 5 minutes to compose the text as he kept deleting and rewording it, but he finally clicked send after he let Haru read the final copy and got his meow of approval.

[Makoto]: hi Rin :) sorry for the confusion, but we won't be able to make it to swim practice tomorrow because Haru is sick :( hopefully we can reschedule for another weekend once he is feeling better!

Once the text was sent Makoto threw the phone into his school bag. His nerves were getting to him and he didn't think he could handle seeing those three dots signifying a response was being typed out.

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Seeing as it was Friday, and Makoto didn't have an excuse not to go to school, Haruka had to make the decision whether to wait at home or come along and wait at school.

Preferring the prospect of the school pool he quickly jogged to keep up with Makoto's long stride. Plus his house would feel even bigger and emptier now that everything had perspectively grown in size. He hasn't liked spending large amounts of time home alone in middle school and that feeling hasn't gone away.

Makoto tried to slow his pace to match the shorter paw steps of a cat's but his steps kept going back to the normal rhythm they usually had.

"Um here," Haruka looked up to see Makoto taking his backpack off his shoulders. "You can ride in here," he said as he unzipped the largest pouch and held it open.

_No._

Quickening his pace Haruka padded past Makoto and continued along the shoreside walk.

He had some dignity left god dang it!

~ ~ ~

The school day passed by somewhat slow as all Haru could do was swim and sleep in the shade once his fur became too waterlogged.

Currently resting his head on his paws he laid beside the edge of the pool. Tail trailing into the water. The sound of cicadas chirping endlessly becoming a white noise in the background.

Most people would have become bored by now, hours beside the pool, just listening to it lap against the side, tail occasionally creating ripples in clear surface as he swung it back and forth. But Haruka enjoyed this, the peace and quiet of it all. In the distance he could hear the class bell ring as students went onto their next lecture or quiz. A weird satisfaction tingled in the back of his mind in the fact that he wasn't stuck in that stuffy classroom with the rest of them. He would probably just be looking out the window anyways, only half listening to the information being given.

Of course thinking about school lead to the memory of just a few days ago when he had a talk with Amakata-san. She hadn't been too pleased with his answers on the career assessment form. His future... what did he want to do with it? He hated that question. He hated that he didn't have an answer to it. And most of all he hated the sick feeling he got whenever he thought about it. Why couldn't he just be free? He didn't want to do anything with his life, he just wanted to swim. Why did no-one seem to understand this...? The tightness in his chest returned as it did that day. His claws extended by reflex and scrapped hard against the concrete, the dull pain barely registering in his mind. His breathe coming out in short, shallow, intervals Haruka could feel his vision tunneling. In an attempt to dispel this feeling he jumped into the pool.

As the water enveloped Haruka the tightness slowly loosened till he could breath easily again. The water dragging away his worry. The clear depths never expecting anything from him besides mutual respect.

He hated that feeling, that dark anxiety never far from his mind. He needed to distract himself and push his thoughts elsewhere. A safe distance away from that problem. There was no time to worry about that when he was facing a more pressing matter.

Just keep your mind in the present. The present is what matters. Don't worry about the future. Don't worry about it just yet. There is still time to figure it all out. _Don't worry. Don't worry.. Don't worry..._

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

By the time the last school bell rang for the day Makoto was throughly exhausted. Already dreading the history exam that would take place next week, not to mention the 5 page essay he needed to start. But schoolwork would have to wait till after they got Haru back to normal. Even though he knew he would regret this procrastination later on.

Packing away his notebook and pencils into his backpack Makoto slung the bag over his shoulder and half-jogged out of the classroom, turning the corner to make his way down the stairs.

Making it to the main entrance he started putting his school shoes in his locker as he quickly slipped on and tied his outdoor ones. Saying a few 'bye's' and 'see ya tomorrow's' to some school friends he knew as he headed to the main doors.

He hadn't liked the idea of leaving Haru alone for this long in his current state, but they would have had a hard time sneaking a cat inside. Besides, Makoto was sure Haru would prefer being in the pool to a stuffy classroom any day.

Speaking of Haru, Makoto spotted his friends just as he exited the building, and it looked like Nagisa had already gotten his clutches on the poor feline. The squirming ball of fur making a desperate attempt to escape the blonde's arms.

From his distance away Makoto could just barely hear;

"Nagisa-kun put him down! He obviously dislikes being held."

"Awww but Mako-chan was able to hold him yesterday."

Approaching the pair, as they stood by the side of the building away from the exiting crowd of other students, Makoto noticed something off.

"Umm did you get Haru a collar?"

Nagsia looked down at the cat's neck to see that there was in fact a red collar settled beneath the black fur. A confused look crossed his face.

"Huh I didn't even notice that? Rei-chan did you get him a collar??"

"I certainly did not! ....And besides, I would have picked a more tasteful design."

Just then Makoto heard a meow coming from around the corner they were next to. Turning around he saw a black cat making their way over to the group. The black fur of this cat was in clumped strands and dripping water as it came closer. But that meant...

Turning back to the angry cat resigned to its fate in Nagisa's arms he had a strong feeling that wasn't Haru...

The other cat, now having reached the group, sat down by their feet. Shaking it's head to rid itself of the water clinging to its whiskers, their fur ended up sticking out at funny angles.

The two cats stared at each other, the one in Nagisa's arms letting out a hiss.

Rei leaned over to Nagisa and half whispered, "Nagisa-kun I don't think that is Haru-senpai your holding."

Blinking a few times to register that information Nagisa suddenly dropped the cat he was holding. Who in turn landed on their feet and made a break for freedom; running across the schoolyard and up onto the wall separating the school from the rest of the neighborhood. Tossing one more offended look back at them before jumping down out of sight.

"....well, I'm going to pretend that didn't happen." Nagisa stated, crossing his arms and puffing out his cheeks in a pout. Obviously embarrassed by the mistake on his part.

Patting him on the shoulder Rei encouraged him, "It's alright, anyone could have made that mistake. There are a lot of black cats around here, and that one did have a similar facial structure to Haru-senpai's."

Perking back up immediately. "Yeah your right! To solve this problem, and to make sure it doesn't happen again, I suggest we actually do go and get Haru-chan a collar!"

His statement was met with a hiss and two head shakes.

~ ~ ~

Cutting swim practice short again today the gang reconvened at Haru's house. It probably wasn't a smart idea to limit their practice with the tournament coming up somewhat soon but they couldn't practice the relay without Haru and everyone would have been too distracted to fully concentrate.

Thankfully Rei had managed to pull some books that morning from the school library and the local one near his house. The pile was huge, taller than Haru. And Makoto couldn't help but wonder how Rei managed to fit all of them in his bag.

Splitting the pile evenly between the four of them they settled down to read their share of the research. Haru, obviously wanting to be of some use, peeked over Makoto's arm at the page.

They were maybe only reading for 25 minutes before they heard a knock on the door.

Startled everyone whipped their heads up at the sound of the noise.

"Who the heck is that!?" Nagisa exclaimed as he tossed his book to the side. Seemingly excited about a distraction from reading.

"Is it your mom maybe?" Kou asked, turning towards Makoto.

"I hope not..." Standing up Makoto started to make his way towards the hallway. "I'll check."

Crossing his fingers he hoped he wouldn't have to explain to his mom why she couldn't come in to check on a sick Haru.

Opening the door halfway he was surprised to see Rin standing on the doorstep, hands shoved into his pockets. His gaze snapped to the now open door.

"O-oh hi Rin!!" Embarrassing even himself by how nervous he sounded. "What are you doing here?"

"Sup. Well apparently Gou is here? I came home to visit mom and her but mom said she was with you guys."

"Oh y-yeah, she's here."

The silence stretched on for a few seconds as neither boy moved. Makoto held his friendly smile as he tried to think of some excuse to turn Rin away. He doubted the only reason he came over was to see Kou. He could have just waited at their house till she got back. The only other reason he could think of is that he wanted to check up on Haru. Despite his tough act Rin really did care.

"Tck, well are you going to let me in?"

Shaking him abruptly out of his thoughts Makoto replied, "Um well like I said Haru is sick, so you, um, probably shouldn't come in or you might catch what he has, it's a pretty nasty bug, wouldn't want you to get it too," he said somewhat rapidly.

Now getting somewhat agitated, Rin pointed an accusing finger into his face. "Then why are you, my sister and by the looks of the shoes, everyone else inside dolphin boy's house?!" Attempting to move past the brunette, his path was blocked as Makoto stepped into his way.

Almost running into him, Rin took a wobbly step back. "Jesus christ Makoto! What are you doing!?"

"Doing? I'm not doing anything?" He hoped he appeared calm because inside he was screaming.

Red eyes narrowed as he stared up at him.

Starting to sweat as the anxiety and guilt got to him Makoto nervously looked anywhere but at Rin. Lying through text is one thing but lying to his face was entirely different. He was never good at it and that was pretty evident at the moment.

As a few more stuttered excuses were made from Makoto the anger started to dissipate from the redheads' face to be replaced by confusion and maybe a little worry. The latter probably caused by the nervous shaking from the brunet.

"Hey. Seriously, what's going on?"

The genuine concern in his voice quickly broke Makoto's resolve as he slumped down against the doorframe. He couldn't let his friend worry like this. And he admits this situation would seem suspicious to an outside viewer. First they cancel the joint practice for vague reasons, then as way of explanation Nagisa insists that Haru is now a cat, which then he has to cover up with a lie. And finally they are all over the supposedly sick boys house and not letting anyone inside. If he were in Rin's shoes he would think his friends were avoiding him.

"Okay.. come on inside," he said while moving back to make room for the other boy to enter.

"Fucking finally," the redhead muttered under his breath.

Thinking it better to quickly explain the situation than to allow further questions Makoto took a deep breath, "so you know that text Nagisa sent you earlier... about Haru being turned into a cat?"

Pausing from taking off his shoe Rin looked up, "yeah? what of it? I know he likes to mess around, I wasn't going to fall for it."

Setting his shoes to the side he made his way further into the house.

"Well you see... he wasn't making that up. It was actually m-me who was lying." Feeling the guilt swell up in his chest he looked at Rin to gauge his reaction. "I'm sorry."

All he got in return was a confused look. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Rounding the corner into the dining room the other three were still in the same spots he had left them in. Minus all the books which he could see were half hidden under the tablecloth.

"Oh hey Rin-chan! What are you doing here at this hour?" Obviously trying to look casual Nagisa leaned half on the table with his face resting in the palm of his hand.

Taking a look at the clock mounted upon the wall Rin deadpanned, "it's only 6:30 in the evening...?"

Looks were exchanged between the group.

Rei leaned over to whisper to Kou, "Does he know?"

Holding her hand up to mask her words, "Not sure? I don't think so?"

"Oi! Seriously you guys, just tell me what's going on!" Clenching his fists by his sides, sharp teeth barred, he looked pretty pissed.

"I already told you ~," Nagisa sang. "Haru-chan turned into a cat!"

The blonde twisted around in his seat to look for the black feline but he was no where in sight. "Okay well he was here a second ago."

"Bullshit, you think I'm going to believe that," crossing his arms he turned his gaze to his sister. "Are you going to play along with this?"

Kou shrugged in response. "Bro. They're telling the truth."

Just then a muffled sneeze could be heard. Looking over towards the wall lined with backpacks a slight movement could be seen coming from within one.

"There he is!" Jumping up from his seat Nagisa scurried over to the moving backpack. Lifting up the one side of the pouch he reached inside to pull out the sleek black figure of a cat. In the process spilling half the contents of the bag.

"Ta-da!" Smiling proudly at his catch, he held Haru out for Rin to see.

"It's ...a cat."

"I know it's hard to believe but...It's actually Haru."  
"It's not just any ol cat! Its Haru-chan!"  
"It may seem improbable but it really is Haru-senpai"  
"Don't be so stubborn! We already told you Haru is a cat."

All four of them spoke up at the same time, not giving Rin the chance to counter their statements.

Haru, still being held in the middle of it all, just looked done with the whole situation. He probably had hid in the bag to avoid Rin finding out and in doing so would avoid this exact situation.

"FINE! Say I believe you. How did this happen?"

Silence.

"We....aren't sure honestly." Kou hesitantly said, while pulling out a book from its spot under the tablecloth. "That's why we were doing research." The book she currently held was a journal on Yokai sightings in the area from 1942.

"You guys are actually serious...aren't you?" Giving the group an incredulous look.

Haru meanwhile, being fed-up with being held, wiggled free to land on the table. Distracting everyone for a moment as their attention landed on the cat.

Rei picking back up the conversation first tried to make one more plea. "There is no sound reasoning behind it, but I assure you we are not trying to deceive you."

As if to affirm Rei's statement Haru let out a meow. Having given up on hiding, Haru was left with no option but to convince Rin and end this annoying circle of questions.

Pushing his hair back from his face, Rin took a deep breath through his nose. Giving another glance to the cat, who was supposedly Haru, the two shared a look. Opening and closing his mouth a few times Rin still looked hesitant but continued on, "Alright how can I help?"

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

"Ya know, when I said I would help I didn't think I would be spending an hour reading through dusty old books"

"That's what helping entails, so suck it up," Kou said while giving her brother a shove.

With a sigh Rin set down his book only to have his eyes meet with Haruka's. Blue eyes stared back unblinking. "He's doing that creepy cat stare thing..."

With no reply to his comment he continued to stare back at the feline. Which soon became a staring contest. As Rin was never one to back down from a challenge.

Haruka hadn't meant for it to become a contest but he was sure he could win, so he continued to stare as well.

Soon Rin's eyes started to twitch as they became dry. Eyelids begging to close. In a last ditch effort to win Rin threw a pillow in Haruka's direction. Which caused him to jump up and out of the way. But miscalculating how far he would have to jump, his back legs slipped out from under him and he _fwoomped_ onto the floor.

Kou, having given up reading in place of watching their exchange, snorted in laughter, "you're such a sore loser ohmygod!"

"I am not! He was cheatin- ouCH!"

Jumping up from his seat he looked underneath the table to see Haruka crouched by the leg of the now unoccupied chair.

"He bit me!"

Haruka took a couple steps towards the redhead, who in turn backed up a few steps. Which was where he made his mistake.

Realizing that he had just shown fear, Rin made a run for it. Maybe hoping to get behind a closed door.

Making it halfway around the table, with the black shadow following close on his heels, he looked to the others for help. But Nagisa was too busy laughing to be of any use and Rei was on the other side of the table, too far to help.

Haruka was in hot pursuit when he suddenly felt a grip around his chest and was lifted from the floor. Looking back to see Makoto trying to pull off a stern expression, but failing, as a laugh threatened to break out. "Pfft, Haru-chan that wasn't very nice of you."

Well _he_ started it by throwing the pillow, Haruka thought grumpily, tail twitching in agitation. Besides he hadn't meant to bite Rin...he just kinda...did. He blamed his cat instincts for this.

Being set down on Makoto's lap Haruka looked to see Rin trying to regain his composure as he sat back down in his seat across the table.

Clearing his throat Rei tried to redirect the situation. "Has anyone found anything of use yet?"

Nagisa's hand shot up. "Oh oh! Pick me Rei-chan."

What was this? School?

"Uh, Nagisa..kun..."

"Nice! Alright, so, I was flipping through this book looking at the pictures," Well that explains how Nagisa hadn't gotten bored already. "-and this picture," he turned the books towards the rest of the group. "has a shrine dedicated to cats!"

"...So?"

"What do you mean "so" Mako-chan?! This could be the key to turning Haru-chan back!"

Taking the book from him, Rei started to read the page next to the photo. Violet eyes skimmed back and forth across the page rapidly, while the rest of the group looked on.

"Well... like Nagisa-kun said it is a shrine dedicated to cats. The townspeople who upkeep the place leave out bowls of cat food for the local strays. A lot of the people who visit make offerings for good health and long lives for their cats. And there is mythos of owners who have lost their cats finding them waiting at the shrine for them.. e-even if their cat was currently deceased."

"Excuse me?" Kou asked in an unbelieving tone.

"So l-like a ghost?"

From Haruka's position on Makoto's lap he could feel him shiver beneath his paws. His friend was never good when it came to scary stuff like ghosts, the dark, or even a tree vaguely shaped like a person.

Rin on the other hand wasn't spooked at all. "So you want to visit this shrine just because there are some ghost stories about it? If that's the case we might as well just visit my grandma's house because she's swears there is a spirit haunting her toaster!"

"Yeah, BUT, is it a cat spirit haunting it?" Nagisa waited a second for a reply he knew wasn't coming, "checkmate."

"Where even is this cat shrine?" Kou asked, directed at Rei.

"Um let's see, the building is called Omatsu Daigongen Shrine, and it's located in Tokushima Prefecture’s Anan City."

"How far away is it?"

"4 hours and 20 minutes by car."

"Ayyyy," Nagisa winked and hand gunned at Rei.

"Stop that."

Makoto chose that moment to jump in, "None of us have a car though! Guess we can't go ha ha! Next plan!"

"Aww don't be a scaredy cat Mako-chan! Your mom has a car right? That can fit all of us for sure!"

"Yeah but, but....," he paused for a second, obviously trying to think of a reason his mom couldn't drive them. "She has... she is... Oh! Actually she was going to spend tomorrow working on bills with my dad. Can't put those off," he stated while attempting a casual shrug.

"Ok well," pulling out his cellphone Rin went to create a message. "If there is no other option I can ask Sousuke to drive us?"

"Sou-chan has a car?!"

"Yamazaki-kun has his license already?!"

"No and yes. It's his moms' but he borrows it sometimes, and yeah he just got it a few months back."

Makoto's shoulders fell in defeat. Everyone else seemed dead-set on this idea.

"Alright.. what time should we leave by tomorrow?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a few notes I want to touch on;  
> \- Okay so just to clarify the whole Kou/Gou thing, I wasn't sure what to have her go by since i've read fics where she's called Kou and others where she's called Gou. Sooooo this is what i'm doing; Rin calls her Gou since that is what he grew up calling her, and Nagisa calls her Gou also, cuz he's Nagisa. Everyone else calls her Kou since that's what she wants to be called by.  
> \- Also the Omatsu Daigongen Shrine IS an actual shrine, and it actually is 4 hours and 20 minutes away from Iwami (the real town Iwatobi was based on) so I wasn't just throwing that in for giggles! okayipartlywas but yeah! i'm going to try and include some actual facts about it next chapter. As far as I know it isn't haunted, that was for plot convenience.  
> \- Snowfall technically isn't an OC since she's in the anime??? (you know which white cat she's suppose to be) And in every fic i've read her name has been Yuki soooo I threw that in. She's going to be more important in the story later on so hopefully her character is okay??? And if you aren't familiar with the cat based series Warriors by Erin Hunter that is kinda where I borrowed the terms "two-legs", "mousebrain", etc.


	3. Sourpuss in the Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Road trip! Road trip! Road trip! Road trip!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha oh boyyy how did this get to be almost 7,000 words?? and half of it is them in the car driving, like how did I manage to do that???  
> Anyways, I hope everyone likes long chapters ^^"

Standing by the roadside the next morning Makoto let out a mighty yawn. They had decided to leave before dawn to give them travel time and to make sure they got to Anan city with plenty of daylight to spare. The idea had seemed good at the time but as he stood there straining to keep his eyes open he regretted every action that lead to this moment.

Haru on the other hand seemed wide awake, ears pricked high in alert to the sound of any car approaching. The feline continuously paced back and forth, only stopping once in awhile to stare out towards the ocean. The morning breeze ruffling his black fur and the stronger gusts almost making him stumble.

Getting tired of standing Makoto checked his watch, noticing that the others were running late. What was taking them so long? Looking out towards the horizon he could see the sky starting to brighten. The sun not within sight yet but the stars had started to disappear from the sky one by one and the birds could be heard waking up to give their morning calls. It was a peaceful time of day, and were it any other situation he would have taken the time to enjoy it.

Finally giving up on standing Makoto took a seat at the curb, placing his travel bag down beside him. He had brought it with him just in case they decided to stay overnight in Anan. It wasn't the plan but they had discussed the possibility last night and agreed to pack some necessities. It was a long drive after all and if it got too late they didn't want to force Sousuke to drive when he was tired. Plus when informing his mom about the impromptu trip she insisted that driving at night wasn't safe and had even given Makoto extra yen for a hotel room just in case.

Noticing that he had sat down Haru stopped his pacing and made his way over to Makoto, sitting down beside him. A few minutes passed like that in silence as they comfortably sat side by side listening to the waves push and pull against the sandy beach. Haru had just readjusted his position by tucking his paws underneath him when he suddenly shot back up. Ears up high and swiveling towards the West. The blue of his eyes were swallowed up as his pupils dilated to make up for the lack of sunlight.

It took another few seconds for Makoto to hear and see what had caught Haru's attention. A red van was speeding down the coastal road, headlights on and tires crunching over some of the loose gravel that littered the road. And it only took another minute before that van pulled up to the curb beside them.

It was almost funny seeing Sousuke Yamazaki drive up in a typical mom van, complete with a "My Child Swims At Samezuka High" sticker on the rear window, due to the fact that it utterly contrasted with the cool demeanor of the driver who was currently resting his elbow out the window.

Sitting in the passenger seat next to him was Rin who had his feet kicked up and chair reclined. Looking like he was trying to catch a few more minutes of sleep.

Just then Nagisa poked his head out between the two. "G'morning! Sorry we took so long guys! Totally my fault. My alarm didn't go off, or I forgot to set it... one or the other." He gave a shrug, not seeming too bothered either way, "But okay, isn't it funny how Sou-chan drives around in a mom van!? He's challenging your position of top mom Mako-chan! Are you going to defend your title or what?!"

Sousuke looked annoyed but didn't react, suggesting that Nagisa had already poked fun at him for it earlier and was now unwilling to give the blonde the satisfaction of a response.

Makoto on the other hand did react. "Since when- what-?! Where do you come up with this stuff Nagisa?! You know what, never mind." It was too early in the morning for this. Besides, if he was being honest with himself he didn't mind that title. He loved his mom, it was an honor to be compared to her, and he did pride himself on being a responsible friend. So what if he was just a tad too mother hen like at times?

"Oh also!" raising his voice in excitement the blonde pulled out boxes of pocky. "I brought snacks so don't worry if you didn't eat brea-", Nagisa was abruptly cut off as Rin gave him a light shove to the chest, pushing him into the backseat.

Mouth curving into a smirk Sousuke jibed at Rin, "Aw someone isn't a morning person."

"Shut up! I usually am, but he was practically yelling in my ear."

Still standing on the side of the road Makoto watched the exchange with amusement. Haru was less amused though and meowed loudly to bring the attention back to them.

Teal gaze turning away from Rin, Sousuke made a jerking motion with his thumb towards the backseat, "Get in."

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

The seating arrangement had Sousuke in the drivers seat, Rin in the passenger, Makoto, Haruka, and Kou in the middle row, and Rei and Nagisa in the back.

Nagisa hadn't been too pleased with this arrangement at first because he claimed to have called "shotgun" last night before Rin had. But Sousuke brushed off his complaints, firmly stating that Rin had passenger seat. And the argument was soon dropped as Kou pointed out that Nagisa wouldn't be able to sit beside Rei if he had shotgun.

So there they were driving along the highway as the sun started to rise above the horizon, chasing away the night's shadows and greeting the day with a sky full of pinks and oranges. Wanting to get a better look out the window Haruka tried craning his neck, but no matter how much he stretched he could just barely see over the car door. Getting annoyed at his now short stature he quickly gave up and settled for glaring at the back of the seat in front of him. It's not like he hadn't seen sunrises before, he justified to himself.

Makoto, having noticed Haruka's attempt at stretching his neck and his current glare being directly at the chair, gave Haruka a curious look. But it only took a second for him to catch onto what was wrong.

Haruka turned his head at the sound of skin patting fabric. Makoto was patting his lap and giving a patient smile directed at him.

He hesitated a moment, was it weird to sit on his friend's lap? Haruka was sure that if he was human right now he would be lightly blushing. But he wasn't human at the moment, and that was the huge difference. Of course it wasn't strange for a cat to sit on someone's lap, cats do that all the time. Besides, why was he thinking about this now anyways? Didn't he sit on Makoto's lap yesterday for a bit? But that thought only served to make him more flustered. His cat boundaries and human boundaries seemed to be totally different. No doubt his cat instincts were going to leave him some embarrassing memories once he was back to normal. Besides yesterday it hadn't been his choice, Makoto had placed him there, _never mind the fact he didn't jump off his lap immediately_ , but today it was Haruka's choice.

Seeing his hesitation Makoto's smile started to drop. It took him a second to realize the implications of his offer but when he did his head turned away quickly to stare out the window, suddenly very interested in the farmland outside. The tips of his ears turning pink being the only indication of embarrassment. Of course Makoto had thought nothing of it until Haruka hesitated. He currently looked like a cat and everyone else's instincts were to treat him like a cat. It was Haruka's fault for getting embarrassed over nothing first.

Haruka, figuring just accepting the offer was less embarrassing than making a big deal out of nothing, slowly stepped up onto Makoto's legs. Taking a quick nervous glance up at Makoto's face to gauge his reaction, he was met with a surprised look that transformed into a lopsided smile.

A confirmation smile from the brunette was all Haruka needed to calm his nerves. It wasn't often the two of them ran into small misunderstandings like this but when they did they were both quick to go back to normal. Makoto usually the one to make it happen, he was like the current of a river in that way, always there and guiding the flow of the water, making sure it reaches its destination even if a storm tries to redirect it. The current has always been the unappreciated part of the river Haruka believes, because without it the river would become stagnant and lose the shine that everyone had adored it for.

Now being able to see out the window clearly Haruka decided the embarrassment was worth it. The sun was glistening off of the water in the rice fields, creating patches of bright light on the earth. The sky still had just hints of the pink dawn clouds slowly turning to white on a backdrop of endless blue.

The peace of the moment was loudly interrupted as a drawn out groan could be heard from the backseat.

"Soooo boooooring!! Why is everyone so quiet?"

"Maybe because some of us only got a few hours of sleep." Rin grumbled from the front seat.

"Well maybe you shouldn't have stayed up so late making out with Sousuke." Nagisa teased, making kissy faces at them.

The van jerked to the side a little bit, but quickly corrected its path.

Rin bolted upright in his seat, turning to viciously glare at the blonde while letting out a growl. Which would have been a lot more threatening if he wasn't blushing. "Shut the hell up! I was explaining to him the situation! You think it's easy to convince someone we need their van to visit a shrine in hopes of turning our friend back into a human, because oh yeah, surprise! Haru is a frickin' cat!!"

"Nagisa-kun please stop trying to rile up Rin-senpai.."

"But there isn't anything else to dooooooo," he whined as he slumped over against the other boy.

Rin looked even more annoyed at the fact that he was being used for entertainment value.

"That's untrue! We can..." Rei trailed off as a contemplating look took over his face.

_How about stopping at that lake we just passed_ , Haruka thought to himself as his gaze trailed after the water's diminishing shape.

As if on cue Makoto seemed to know what he was thinking, "We aren't stopping at that lake Haru."

Haruka let out a huff. Denied even when he didn't say anything.

"Oh I know," Kou clapped her hands together. "We can play truth or dare!"

Rin looked unimpressed. "What is this a slumber party?"

"Okay fine. How about 20 questions?"

"That isn't a group game."

"I mean... it can be?"

"Next."

"Your just going to shoot down any idea I throw out there!" Kou pointed an accusing finger at her brother.

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

Just as Kou was taking a breath to retort with another 'are too', Sousuke jumped in with, "How about iSpy?"

Kou and Rin gave him identical petulant looks.

"What are we? 5? I don't think so," Rin groused.

"It was just a suggestion sheesh," Sousuke said, while rolling his eyes.

It had only been half an hour and Haruka was already wanting to jump out the moving vehicle. This many teenagers should not be stuffed inside one van for an extended amount of time. Especially teenagers who hadn't gotten enough sleep.

The sound of someone clearing their throat came from the back seat. Turning around to see Rei pushing his glasses up his nose, like he always did when proud of himself, he awaited another ridiculous idea. _Unless it involved water he was out._

"Not to worry, I have thought of the perfect game to pass the time!" Pausing for, what was without a doubt, dramatic effect. Rei pulled out a stack of flash cards. "Chemistry Trivia!"

"Rei-chaaaan! That isn't a real game!"

"It most certainly is. Haven't you heard of Trivial Pursuit? Or any board game involving questions really?"

"This is different. This is just you tricking us into studying for that test coming up in a few weeks!"

Looking maybe a little guilty Rei mumbled, "I think reviewing chemistry would be beneficial to all of us here..."

Obviously trying to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand Makoto spoke up. "Um, let's just play the alphabet game? Ren and Ran always enjoy that one."

Everyone else reluctantly agreed, probably more because everybody was tired of arguing than actually wanting to play the game.

"Alright, what should the first category be?" Rin asked.

"K-pop stars!" Kou made the peace sign with her fingers. "Or different types of muscles."

"Anyone else have any suggestions?"

Kou pinched her brother's arm in retaliation.

"hEY-"

Raising his voice Makoto spoke up again, "LETS just start with something simple," he tapped his chin. "Like tv shows?"

Makoto had become the master of controlling rowdy siblings through everyday practice and Haruka was somewhat impressed. He had never been good at communicating with other people, and certainly couldn't redirect a conversation this smoothly.

Seeing that the game could actually begin now, Nagisa jumped up in his seat, "I'LL START!"

"Avatar!"

"Isn't that a movie?" Rin asked.

"Noooo! I'm talking about Avatar the Last Airbender. You know, that American show we watched subtitled?"

"Oh, right."

"I suppose I'll go next," Rei said while adjusting his glasses. "Bones. It's this show following these forensic investigators an-"

"Community," Kou said to cut Rei off before he could go onto an hour long spiel about the methods they applied when solving cases.

"Digimon."

"Eureka."

"Family feud."

"Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun."

Haruka soon started to drown out the chattering as they went down the rest of the alphabet. It's not like he could play if he wanted to, no one would be able to understand his answers. Okay maybe Makoto... but that's almost like having him take two turns. Plus Haruka doubted he would last more than one round with his limited knowledge of tv shows being cooking related or whatever was on at the Tachibana's house.

~ ~ ~ 

The rest of the trip went by slowly. After the alphabet game they had moved onto 20 questions, at Kou's insistence, and then "trivia", but that didn't last long as Nagisa ended up taking the cards from Rei by force, and throwing them to Rin up front, out of reach. Rei of course wasn't happy but everybody else was relieved.

Soon everyone, besides Sousuke, started to drift off to sleep as the tiredness from that morning caught up with them.

Makoto had taken out one of the blankets he had packed and placed it on his lap. Insisting that if Haru was going to sit here he wanted him to be comfortable. And Haruka wasn't going to argue, it was one of his favorite blankets after all. Whenever he slept over his friend's house he would somehow manage to get his hands on this particular blanket. Which made him wonder if Makoto brought this blanket just because he knew this.

Curling up into a ball, and a nuzzling his face against the blanket Haruka was surprised by how many scents he could pick up; the fabric softener the Tachibana's always used, the somewhat musty scent of Makoto's closet, and the slightly chlorine washed smell of Makoto himself. It smelled comforting, it smelled like home.

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Makoto was in a light, peaceful, sleep when suddenly his body was jerked forward violently against the seatbelt, knocking the breathe out of him. The lack of air and sudden call to conscious left him feeling disoriented. Instinctively his arms reached down to cradle the body on his lap, and make sure Haru didn't fall off. He's glad he insisted everyone wear their seat belts.

"Ah sorry everyone. That fox came out of no where," came the gruff apology from Sousuke. "But we're almost there so don't bother trying to fall back asleep."

Nagisa stretched his arms over his head with a yawn. " 'bout time, 'm starving."

"Nagisa-kun didn't you pack snacks?"

"Yea but those are _snacks_ I'm talking about lunch."

"I'm sure we will pass restaurants on the way to the shrine," Makoto assured.

"We better! Or I'll shrivel up and die from starvation." Nagisa dramatically draped himself over Rei's lap. "I can feel myself already wasting away."

"You are ridiculous, starvation can take up to 30-40 days, and even if we took dehydration into account that's still 10 days you could go on for."

Nagisa groaned, "I change my mind, I'm going to die from nerd-talk."

Rei pushed him off his lap in response.

Just then they passed a sign saying "Welcome to Anan City" in big, bold white letters.

And it was then that Sousuke pulled over to the curb of the road. "So does anyone have the exact address? Rin didn't know it so I've just been following directions to the city in general." Holding up his smartphone to show how it was open to the Google Maps app.

"And here I thought Sou-chan was just really good at directions."

Rin let out a bark of laughter, while Sousuke looked away, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

"Anyways, referring to your inquiry, yes I actually wrote down the address," Rei pulled out a index card and handed it to Kou. "Here, pass it forward please."

Once the address was punched into Sousuke's smartphone it wasn't long before they were back on the road. The scenery quickly changing from farmlands to suburbs as houses became more frequent and tightly packed. As they turned from the main road onto side-streets people could be seen on the sidewalks walking their dogs, taking care of their garden, or bicycling with friends as they raced down the street. It seemed like a cheery neighborhood.

Slowing to a crawl Sousuke looked out his window at street sign and then around at the steep hill to their left. "Alright this is it at the top of that hill," making a motion in its direction. "All we need to do now is find parking."

Finding parking was a lot more difficult than they thought it would be, circling the area a for what seemed like hours before ending up finding a parking lot a couple blocks away with a set day rate you had to pay.

Once they had paid the ticket booth worker at the entrance and got their ticket confirming their purchase they pulled into a spot and finally parked.

Everyone slowly started to exit the van with varying degrees of groans, and proceeded to stretch as soon as their feet hit solid ground.

The second Makoto had opened the door on his side Haru had jumped off of his lap and onto the pavement below. Shaking his fur out from head to toe, Haru then went on to stretching as well.

"Ughhh finally!! I feel like we've been traveling for days," Nagisa complained.

"It was certainly a long drive," Rei agreed while swinging a small backpack over his shoulders. It was probably filled with practical supplies and necessities knowing him.

After Sousuke made sure the van was locked the group started to make their way towards the exit of the parking lot

Pointing in the direction of the hill the cat shrine resided on Makoto took the lead, "Okay so now we just need to head back towards the shr-"

"Mako-chaaaan!" Nagisa butted his head against the taller boys shoulder, "you promised we could get food before we went there!"

_Crap_. He had promised that hadn't he? Normally he wouldn't care but the whole haunted shrine business was making him antsy now that they were near the area. Makoto just wanted to get in and get out as fast as possible. Or maybe just skip the visit all together.

"Um, maybe it could wait till after we go t-" he was cut off again, but by Rin this time.

"Nah, I agree with Nagisa, lunch first. Besides, I have to take a piss really bad."

On that note Rin took the lead, walking in the direction they had seen a shopping plaza. None of them had been paying attention enough during the drive to remember any specific restaurants in it, but it surely had a few.

It took them a few minutes to make it to the plaza, which was set up in a decent sized "L" shape, and luckily had a couple cafes/restaurants to choose from. Or maybe not so lucky.

"Let's go to that café! Iced coffee sounds amazing right now," Kou said, turning to the rest of the group.

"Cafés don't have real food Gou-chan! I could eat a 4 course meal at this point! A couple brownies won't do the job." Nagisa pointed a finger to the other side of the "L" structure. "There looks good."

Makoto squinted to make out the words above the doorway, which read; "Bucking Broncos Beef Ballroom". _Why did that name sound like they just threw a bunch of words starting with the letter B together?_

From further down the plaza strip Rei studied the chalkboard sign set out in front of the store, "This establishment seems to have decent prices."

Taking one look at the restaurant name, "Salad Satisfaction", Nagisa chose to ignore Rei's suggestion and turned to Sousuke. "What about you Sou-chan? Café, Restaurant, or rabbit food?!" Nagisa leaned closer in anticipation, obviously expecting the older boy to agree with his choice of venue.

Obviously not liking being the deciding factor Sousuke gave a neutral answer. "I mean, I'm fine with whatever, as long as it's not too pricey, I guess," he finished with a shrug.

Nagisa visibly deflated for a second, but was back up and turning towards his next victim.

Pink eyes locked onto Makoto. But before he could persuade the easily agreeable brunette into siding with him Rin rushed past.

"Oh my gOD! You guys are taking too long! I'll just decide."

Makoto had noticed a pensive look on the redhead's face for the past couple minutes, but now there was a slight hopping between his left and right feet motion added... Oh. Rin had said earlier that he had to go pee, he probably _really_ had to go pee at this point.

Rin swung open the door to the nearest choice, which just so happened to be the café. I guess that settled that dispute. The rest of the group following the redhead's lead.

Nagisa accepted his defeat with as much grace as Nagisa normally did. Aka he pouted. But he soon got over it when he spotted the desserts set out behind the glass, rushing over to press his face against the clear barrier.

The barista behind the counter sighed at the sight, pulling out window cleaner from below to use later.

Looking around Rin was nowhere in sight, so Makoto figured he had already found the restroom. The café was small but welcoming, the smell of pastries and coffee beans filling the air. The walls were painted a pleasant earthy orange color with landscape photographs spaced along it. The tables were wooden and meant to seat four, but they could push two together easily.

Making his way to the counter Makoto was drawn to a sudden halt as one of the baristas stepped in front of him.

"Um, I'm sorry sir but we are going to have to ask you to leave your cat outside," she politely asked, motioning to Haru.

"Oh! Um..." Makoto trailed off looking down at Haru for his opinion.

Blue eyes blinked up at him, a look of annoyance crossing his cat features, mainly shown by the flicking of his tail.

The girl looked on expectantly. "It's store policy, um, sorry," she gave a slight bow of her head.

"No, no it's okay!" Makoto waved off her apology. She didn't make the rules after all. "Come on Haru." Making his way back to the exit, Makoto opened the door for his friend to walk out.

"We'll only be like 30 minutes tops, I promise. And we can get you something..." Makoto considered the fact that they were at a café and not a full blown restaurant. He's pretty sure there weren't any options here that a cat should eat. "Okay maybe we'll stop somewhere else on the way?"

Haru didn't look impressed by this decision. If the look leveled at Makoto was anything to go by.

Reluctantly going back inside the café Makoto spotted Rin who was back with the group, standing in line behind Sousuke to place his order. To Nagisa's excitement they did have some actual food items available, such as; panini's, sandwiches, and wraps.

A few minutes later the baristas were rushing about preparing all their orders in record time. Makoto was impressed and made sure to leave a tip in the tip jar near the register.

Once setting down their food at the table they quickly ate, as they were all hungrier than they originally thought. Soon cleaning up their garbage they thanked the workers with a wave as they exited the establishment.

"You think Haru-chan will like the cookie I got him?"

"Nagisa-kun for the last time, cat's aren't meant to eat sugary sweets. They are natural carnivores."

"Yeah but look! It's in the shape of a cat head! Isn't it cute?" Nagisa held the cookie up in front of Rei's face.

Rei leaned away, due to the cookie being uncomfortably close to his face, "Y-yes, I suppose so."

Makoto had to admit, the cookie was pretty cute. With chocolate chips for eyes and frosting making the whiskers he couldn't resist buying a few himself.

"Oi, speaking of Haru.. where did he wander off to?" Rin asked, while looking both directions down the plaza.

"Haru?" Makoto called.

"Haru!" He tried again, this time a little louder.

Makoto attempted to push down the rising panic he could feel itching in the back of his mind. There was nothing to worry over, Haru had probably just gotten bored waiting outside on the sidewalk and went to look around. Or maybe he went to find food. Either way he couldn't have gone far, at least that's what he kept telling himself.

_Wait_. When was the last time Haru had been in water? Probably this morning when he had partially filled the bathtub for him before leaving. That was over 5 hours without being in water... Makoto had a feeling he knew where to find his friend.

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Haruka was peacefully swimming through the water, eyes half closed to the glare of the sun reflecting off the surface. The balance between the chilly water and the midday heat creating a perfect temperature. Koi fish swam out of his way, choosing to stick to the outer edges, away from this furred intruder. The pond wasn't very deep, and if he really stretched his leg out he could just barely scrap the bottom of the gravel. Under the warm sunlight he was just starting to feel drowsy when a sudden shadow fell over him. Looking up his eyes were able to quickly adjust to the change in light intensity, allowing him to see the form of an old man glaring down at him.

"Shoo shoo! Don't be eatin' my fish!" The old man pulled out a broom from beside him and proceeded to sweep it at Haruka. The swipes weren't hard so he figured the man didn't want to hurt him, or he just had a really weak swing. Either way Haruka jumped out of the water, dashing out of range, water splashing along the rock edge and droplets trailing off his fur.

"Go on! Get outta here."

Hmph. It's not like he had tried to eat any of the fish in his pond. All he wanted to do was swim.

Exiting the suburban yards and going out onto the sidewalk he started back towards the plaza. It was then that he spotted Makoto jogging down the sidewalk towards him. The others more slowly trailing behind.

"Haru!" Makoto came to a stop in front of him. Catching his breath in deep gulps, before crouching down beside Haruka. Green eyes taking in the soaked appearance of his fur, "I knew I had spotted a pond on the way here.. But you shouldn't have just wandered off like that!" Makoto said with an exasperated tone.

Haruka didn't see what the big deal was, he just wanted to swim. Besides, he thought he could be back before they had finished their lunch. How could he have known they would be so fast?

Seeing Haruka's stubborn expression the brunette let out a sigh, giving him a small smile. "Well.. Haru is Haru after all."

Haruka turned his head away in embarrassment at the affection lacing his tone, why did Makoto always have to be so genuine.

Just then the rest of the group caught up. They were half-jogging, but not at the pace Makoto had been. So when they did reach them they weren't out of breath, although their breathing was a little faster.

"Looks like your hunch was correct Makoto-senpai," Rei praised.

Nagisa pushed to the front of the group to crouch beside Haru and Makoto. "Haruu-chaaan! You shouldn't ditch us like that! We got worried! What if a dog got to you?" The blonde reached out to hug the feline, causing Haruka to look for an escape route but realized he was essentially cornered between Nagisa and Makoto and could not run away. In a desperate attempt to stop this unwanted contact he gave a mighty shake of his fur, practically soaking everyone in a 2 foot radius.

"Wahh!! Haru-chan!!" Nagisa whined, proceeding to wipe the water off his face and shake out his shirt. "I'm going to hug you one of these days! Just you wait," he pointed his index finger at the cat, pink eyes narrowing in a playful glare.

"Alright alright," Rin clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "Let's head to that shrine." Once again taking the lead, he started walking towards the hill that could just been seen in the distance.

~ ~ ~ 

Walking up the old stone steps Haruka's blue gaze flickered back and forth between the statues of cats on either side of the path, half hidden in the now overgrown foliage. The cats were raising their one paw in greeting, inviting them in, all wide smiles and closed eyes. But by the time they had reached the top of the stairs he felt just a little creeped out by how many there were. Not only did the statues guard the entrance but they were on tables, under benches, and on top of archways. The cheshire smiles and golden eyes seemed to be mocking Haruka's current state, as if they were saying _"you belong with us now."_

Right before the temple was a visitors area where a small gift shop and information booth stood. And as Haruka was eyeing all the cat themed objects for sale his foot caught on a indent in the path. Almost tripping over his own paws he managed to right himself in time and looked down to see what had inconvenienced him; oddly enough there were cat paw-prints imprinted into the cement, leading a trail towards the temple. Placing one paw over the imprint, he could almost perfectly fit his paw-pads into the space. A blatant reminder of his situation.

Just then a cloud passed over the sun, taking away the warmth of the day for a few seconds. Looking up towards the sky Haruka could see darker clouds in the distance, slowly rolling East. If they were lucky it would just pass them by, but the chilly breeze that blew through his fur suggested otherwise. _So much for the nice day it had started out as._

He turned around to see Sousuke also looking up at the clouds, probably prompted by the sudden cold breeze that had passed. His lips turned down in a frown before walking towards the temple with the rest of the group, minus Nagisa, who had stopped to check out the gift shop.

Catching up with Makoto and Rin, who were in the lead, he stuck close by their sides as they made it to the entrance of the building. The red pillars held up the arching grey roof which, of course, had another cat statue resting on top. In the center of the temple was a board with string stretched across its length, and on that string hung many thin plaques of wood on which people had written their wishes or prayers. Bowls with incense still burning sat to the side. The smoking curling and rising towards the roof.

It seemed like a normal enough shrine. Besides the overwhelming amount of cat themed decor.

Makoto let out a sigh he had been holding in. "I guess all those scary stories were just stories after all huh? This place is actually kind of nice," he smiled as he tapped the nose of the nearby cat statue.

"Hey guys! Look at this!" Nagisa called from the gift shop. "They have cat shaped sunglasses," he flicked on a pair of sunglasses shaped like cat heads.

"Nagisa-kun this is not the time to be souvenir shopping."

The blonde pouted in response but set the sunglasses back on the rack and headed over.

Just as Nagisa rejoined the group, now with a cat keychain hanging off his belt, an elderly women peaked her head around one of the pillars. "Oh my! A whole bunch of visitors today. Welcome, welcome. Have you come to wish for good health for your cat here?" A crooked finger pointing in Haruka's direction.

"Ah..ha.. something like that," Makoto replied while scratching the back of his head nervously.

"Well alright then," giving a nod in acknowledgement to the group. "I'll see if I have any more plaques laying around." And with that she hobbled off in the direction of the gift shop, whose employee was already on their feet and at the door.

"You guys want to see the keychain I got?" Nagisa excitedly asked.

He held up the keychain for closer inspection, showing that it was another lucky cat like the ones all over the shrine. Paw held up and eyes partially open to reveal golden slits.

"I got the green one since that's suppose to be good luck for education studies! And boy do I need the luck." He mumbled the last part more to himself than them.

"A wise choice Nagisa-kun. Although it has not been proven that the addition of so called lucky objects has helped anyone achieve academic success."

"Shush. Shushhh Rei-chan," he reached up to place his hand over the other boy's mouth. "Shushhhh."

"Okay I get it," he swatted the blondes hand away from his face.

Haruka turned his head at the sound of the elderly lady shuffling back into the temple. "Here you go young man," she said while handing the blank plaques to Rin, who happened to be closest to her.

A chorus of thank you's was echoed by the group as they gave small bows to the woman as she took her leave, a box of cat treats in her one hand.

"She didn't give us anything to write with," Rin voiced aloud as he turned over the pieces of wood, inspecting them.

"Not to worry!" Rei pushed up his glasses. "I have a wide selection of pens, markers, and sharpies in my supply pouch," he pulled out a smaller bag from within his backpack and proceeded to hand everyone a writing utensil.

"Okay everyone get to work on writing something really good! We want our wishes answered!" Kou ordered, standing in her _manager stance._

The next few minutes were spent in relative silence as everyone concentrated on what they should write.

Nagisa was sticking out his tongue in concentration as he scribbled out a message. While Makoto kept pausing to look up at the ceiling as if it would give him inspiration.

Rei was writing down rough drafts on a separate sheet of paper. Tutting to himself when crossing out words he didn't like. The tutting drew Kou's attention to the notebook and she peaked over his shoulder in hopes of taking some ideas he wasn't going to use.

Unsurprisingly Rin got frustrated within a minute and just wrote something down with a quiet "good enough".

Sousuke had finished first and was now leaning against a pillar waiting for everyone else to finish up. Haruka wondered what he had written down. It wasn't like Sousuke knew him well, or even liked him for that matter.

Not being able to write Haruka simply sat next to his friends until they were all ready to hang their plaques up.

Taking the string tied to the wood they each attached their wish to the board. When finished they clapped their hands together and bowed their head in silent prayer.

Another cold wind blew through the temple, buffeting against his black fur and making him squint his eyes. It was then that Haruka took notice of the incense smoke from earlier. It hadn't changed it's course. The wind seemed to have no effect on the twirling white as it continued its straight path upward. The wind slowly started to die down but was still lightly ruffling his fur. Why wasn't the smoke being blown away?

He started to pad over to the incense bowl, intent on seeing if maybe the wind just didn't reach there. But before he could take more than five steps he caught a glimpse of white in his peripheral vision. The movement was fast and by the time he blinked it was gone. But Haruka was sure there was someone there a second ago.

Probably just a plastic bag caught up in the wind, he tried to convince himself.

Suddenly a loud yowl resounded from outside. High pitched and short. Haruka jumped almost a foot in the air at the noise and spun around in the direction it had came. The grassy clearing to the North of the temple was clear, not a moving creature in sight. The rustle of the tree leaves and the tinkle of a far off wind-chime the only sound to be heard. He hesitantly took a step forward, ears pricked and tail ramrod stiff. Glancing at Makoto he noticed his friend hadn't reacted the tiniest bit to the sound. That didn't seem right at all... there was no way Makoto wouldn't have reacted to that.

Padding towards the direction the distressed yowl had come from Haruka wondered if maybe this wasn't such a good idea. This whole situation seemed... off somehow. But his curiosity outweighed his logic at the moment.

Jumping down a few creaky steps he landed on solid earth and took a look around the clearing. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, just more cat statues and a few gardening tools leaning against the side of the shrine.

But the more steps he took away from the shrine the more the atmosphere started to change. It wasn't noticeable at first but by the time he got halfway across the clearing Haruka felt like he was being watched. Whiskers twitching in discomfort he came to a stop. The sunlight faded as another cloud moved to block the sun, making the light breeze feel even chillier. His fur puffed up on instinct to combat the cold.

Out of the corner of his eye there was a white blur again, just a shadow of movement that could be easily missed. Quickly turning his head he was meet with more cat statues. The smiles on their faces didn't seem so friendly anymore, the grins looking more sinister in nature, and their golden eyes glowed, as if reflecting sunlight, even though there was none.

Haruka's self preservation instincts kicked in and he whirled around to run back to the temple, back to his friends. He couldn't hear anything besides the blood pounding in his ears, muffling the outside world. His movements seemed slower to him, as if his legs had become stiff from fright.

And just as he was about to reach the bottom of the steps he froze in place at the tinkle of a bell. The sound echoed in his ears and vibrated to his core, making him shiver.

The hairs on his back stood up as the ghost of a presence wafted over him. There was definitely someone else in the yard with him.

Blue eyes wide in fear, Haruka slowly turned his head....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >:3c 
> 
> Just in-case anyone wants to see pictures of the actual shrine here is a FB page with some;[Omatsu Daigongen Shrine](https://www.facebook.com/shikokutours/photos/?tab=album&album_id=636424369831124)  
> And as you can see I wasn't making up the amount of cat statues lol


	4. It's Raining Cats and Dogs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spooky? Angst. Thunderstorm. Angst. Angst resolved?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHH i'm so sorry it took a month to update??? I hadn't even realized it had been that long.  
> But I got distracted by midterms, my friend from another country visiting, and then my other friend leaving the country, so I was pretty busy but.. okay, those are just excuses, i've actually had most of this chapter done for awhile.. I just... I am not pleased with it??? I kept putting off posting it, because I kept thinking I would go back and change things. But once I hit the month mark I told myself: "JUST POST IT OMG lets move on with the plot". Anyways, this chapter is somewhat more SouRin focused. I didn't mean for it to happen, but my fingers have a mind of their own when I write late at night lol (I didn't tag that pairing for no reason when I made this fic ya know, I was planning on doing more with them eventually anyways)  
> Alright, enough introduction, time for the chapter! :)

The only thing that registers in Haruka's mind is the glint of golden eyes, the dark pupils narrowed down into needle-like slits. Unable to tear his gaze away he simply stared, body rigid in trepidation. Besides the eyes, the rest of this cat was almost entirely transparent, giving a cloudy view of the bushes behind it.

The atmosphere he had felt before was amplified tenfold. It was similar to the feeling he had experienced when he was younger, when Makoto and him had stood by the shoreline and could only watch as a funeral precession passed by for the sailors who had died during a storm. The overwhelming feelings of sadness, regret, and longing could be felt in the very air, radiating off of the people in waves as they continued along. Haruka admits he's not always the best at expressing his emotions, but at that moment he felt like he could have cried; cried for those that had died, cried for the people who were trying to hold back their tears, cried for the unfairness of it all. But a strong grip on his hand had stopped those overwhelming feelings. Seeing the watery look in his friends eyes had given him courage, because he was supposed to be the brave one of the two, and he would be brave because that's what Makoto needed.

But Makoto wasn't here, and he had no-one to be brave for besides himself. And he didn't know if he could do that.

The clearing seemed to get darker as the penetrating eyes got closer, the body of a cat seeming to blur at the edges. Black and orange patches of fur drifted on and then off of the cat's white pelt, seeming to fade from existence for a second before blending back in, creating a sort of calico kaleidoscope.

Once the cat was a tail's length away it stopped and slowly opened it's mouth, catching a glimpse of sharp teeth. Haruka nervously waited as it was getting ready to either attack him or try to talk to him, but before it could do either a loud call of his name was heard from right behind him. Making him violently flinch in surprise, but the second he blinked the cat was gone. And at the same time everything else returned to normal as well, as if he had imagined the whole thing; the daylight seemed to have gotten brighter, the grass seemed more green, and the nearby chirping of birds returned to his ears, accompanied by the soft rustling of leaves overhead. The difference was quite jarring to his already overstimulated senses.

"Geez Haru, what the hell are you doing over here?" Rin turned around to yell, "Hey guys I found him!"

Soon five more heads popped up next to Rin.

"Aww Haru-chan is still a cat! I thought for sure my wish would have turned him back!" Nagisa pouted. "Maybe it doesn't take effect right away..?"

Sousuke snorted, "This isn't some sort of magic fairy tale bullshit, you couldn't have _actually_ expected this to work."

"Haru-chan. is. a. cat. So I don't want to hear any of that negative talk mister," Nagisa pointed a finger up at the taller boy, who simply frowned at the accusing digit. "I will defend my belief that this was a good plan!"

"Nagisa-kun.. he does have a point, there is no conclusive science behind wishes, magic, or the like," Rei pauses for a second as if he hates to admit it. "But... this whole situation isn't probable to begin with.. so I agree unorthodox methods were necessary."

"Exactly! Screw science!"

Rei looked absolutely offended, "That's not what I meant!"

As the two continued to bicker Haruka failed to notice Makoto coming over to crouch by his side. He was brought to attention as he felt a featherlight touch against his fur. He flinched away, looking up to see an apologetic smile on his friend's face.

"Ah sorry, it's just...you looked somewhat.. spooked?" Green eyes searching in worry but also confusion. It was rare that Haruka would be the one needing reassurance, and as far as Makoto knew there was nothing to be scared of here.

Looking down at himself he noticed how puffed up his fur still was from that fright, and Haruka tried to will his black coat to lie flat. Especially his tail, which looked like a feather duster in the way it was so fluffed out. No wonder Makoto was worried, and honestly maybe he should be. He had no idea what that thing was and he didn't particularly want to stick around and find out.

Haruka never considered himself a fraidy-cat, but trying to blame the terror he felt a minute ago on his newfound cat instincts was a lie and he knew it. The feelings of dread were all his own, brought out by whatever that had been. The odd thing was that all lingering traces of that horror seemed to have evaporated along with the cat, and if he hadn't so vividly felt everything he could have convinced himself that he had hallucinated it all.

Making eye contact with his best friend he tried to convey the feeling that everything was okay. Which was somewhat a lie, but he didn't have to know that.

He's just glad Makoto hadn't been the one to confront the cat apparition. If Haruka had been terrified he can only imagine what Makoto's reaction would have been.

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

The second Makoto had reached the clearing he knew something was wrong. Gaze immediately locking onto Haru who was standing at the foot of the steps with his black fur fluffed out in bristles instead of its normal sleek appearance. And when we tried to make eye contact with his friend he couldn't, as the blue irises were too busy rapidly darting around the yard, as if looking for something.

Reaching out, with what he hoped was comforting hand, Makoto quickly apologized as he felt the body jump slightly underneath his fingers.

This wasn't like Haru at all. Did something happen? Did he get into a fight with another cat?

But before he could continue his line of questioning he was pulled out of his worrying state by a nudge against his arm. Looking up at Kou he followed her line of sight to see that the old lady was back. White hair now tied up in a neat bun and clothes covered in even more cat fur. In her arms she held an half-empty bag of cat food and a few dishes balanced on top of each other.

Taking notice of the group her eyes crinkled in a smile, "Oh, done already? My, my, you young people are so quick," she said as she shuffled over to a nearby bench and placed the items on top of it. "Well I hope whatever it is you wished for comes true."

"Thank you very much ma'am'" Makoto said with a bow of his head. Followed by the rest of the group copying his motion.

"This is one of the coolest shrines I've been to before for sure," Nagisa excitedly compliments.

Feeling that Nagisa's comment was far from satisfactory Rei decides to add more, "Besides for it being _cool_ , I must say, I was impressed by the upkeep of the shrine, you do a lovely job, and I read all about the donation system you have set up and I applaud your efforts at stabilizing the feral cat population in your area."

Smiling under all the praise the woman gently waves off their compliments, "I really don't do that much. You kids are too kind," she stops for a moment eyebrows drawn together in thought. "I never did give you a proper tour of the place did I? Shame on me, honestly where are my manners.. follow me, follow me," she waves as she turns around towards the entrance of the shrine. Not looking back once, obviously expecting them to follow.

"Wasn't the plan to ditch this place once we were done with the plaques?" Rin whispers to the rest of the group.

"I didn't think we had a plan really?" Kou shrugs.

"The plan is simple. Step 1. Go to the cat shrine. Step 2. Help Haru-chan return to normal. Step 3. Bask in the glory of success," Nagisa recited as if he were explaining a very complicated battle strategy.

"Wow... what a detailed, and well thought out plan," Rin drawled.

"You were there when I was making it! Therefore you are a co-creator of the plan by default," Nagisa defended.

"Well I for one am _not_ ready to drive for another 5 hours just yet," Sousuke grumbled before heading off to follow the woman.

"It would be rude to not accept her offer you guys," Makoto said while following after the other boy.

Soon they all trailed after the two, but Makoto stopped short once he realized someone was missing.

Turning around he saw that Haru was still standing in the grass where Makoto had found him, his blue eyes deep in thought, claws extended and digging into the dirt. "Haru..?"

Looking up at the sound of his name, Haru seemed surprised that he was the only one still standing there, too distracted to notice the others had walked away. Quickly bounding over to Makoto's side he kept close as they walked after the others.

The old woman walked at a slow pace as she traversed the shrine's grounds. Pointing out various landmarks and features followed by lengthy explanations. She was obviously enjoying herself, happy to have an attentive audience listening to her rambles. Well, except for Rin, who seemed to be playing an app on his phone, only half paying attention. He didn't think Rin was being rude on purpose, he's just always had little interest in anything besides swimming.

Makoto moves to half stand in front of the other boy, effectively blocking the old lady's view of him. Not wanting to upset her by seeing _'a typical teenager ignoring the real world by going on their phone'._

Glancing down every couple minutes at Haru, Makoto was straining to hold back his questions. Not that he could get a straight answer with the human/cat language barrier now existing, but he sensed something was still off about his friend.

Those suspicions being confirmed not a minute later, as Haru suddenly bolted from his side. He was heading in a straight line to a nearby fence, which Makoto noticed a grey tabby cat was resting upon. It's long striped fur somewhat a mess as the wind blew it in all directions, green eyes squinting against the assaulting air.

Almost running into Makoto as he came to a stop, Rin looked up from his phone and turned in the direction Makoto was staring, "Is that Haru? What's he doing?"

From atop the fence, the grey cat let out a warning hiss down at the intruder. Haru stiffened somewhat but didn't back down as he proceeded to let out a series of soft chirp sounds. And whatever he was saying was working as the hair on the tabby's back started to lie flat again.

"Looks like.. he's talking?" Makoto answered hesitantly, unsure himself.

"Uhuh, but isn't this Haru we're talking about here? Mister 'avoid social interactions at all costs'."

Makoto agreed it was strange, Haru never went out of his way to talk to strangers, he found it too much of a bother. "Maybe they have cat stuff to discuss..?"

He received an incredulous look in response, "What the fuck is 'cat stuff'?"

Makoto simply shrugged, giving an apologetic smile for not knowing.

The others had kept walking, continuing the tour, but shot curious glances back at the two once they realized they had fallen behind.

"Should we wait for Haru to finish up with whatever or catch up to the others?" Rin asked, fully knowing what Makoto would answer.

"You can go on ahead if you want, I'll wait," he waved to the group, motioning them to keep going.

"Nah it's cool, I'll wait too," Positioning his arms behind his head, he looked up at the sky that had continued to get darker since noon. "Besides I wasn't really paying attention, she lost me after the first ten minutes."

Makoto gave a disapproving hum of acknowledgement. "Even in grade school you had a hard time following the history lessons."

Offended, Rin gave a small frown, "I didn't have a hard time following it! Shit was just boring."

"Of course, of course," Makoto waved his hands in surrender.

The conversation then trails off into silence, though it wasn't an uncomfortable one, like it might have been a year ago.

Rin looked somewhat hesitant before broaching the next topic, "Speaking of school... do you know what you want to do after high school? And I know, I know, this isn't usually something I pry into but... When I was in Australia I didn't keep in contact at all, which kinda messed everything up. So I want to do it right this time," he looked up at Makoto with sincerity and determination in his eyes.

Unable to avoid the those fiery red eyes Makoto gave his honest answer, "I've... I've been thinking about going into teaching.. like, teaching kids how to swim, kinda how Sasabe-san does." A brief feeling of guilt twisted his stomach as he admitted his plans. He hadn't even told Haru this yet, and it felt somewhat wrong, like a betrayal to their friendship. Haru had always been the first one he told everything to, but for some reason he hesitated when it came to this subject. Why was it easier for him to admit his plans to Rin?

"Hey that's cool dude, you would be a natural at that." Rin bumped shoulders with him.

He smiled at his friend, feeling a little better at the praise, "I hope so.... I've also already started looking at possible universities, but the applications and prices kinda scare me whenever I click their websites," he scratched the back of his neck in his instinctive nervous gesture.

"And what about Haru?"

Makoto had known this question was coming, but he had hoped it wouldn't. "Ah, Haru is...still undecided... you know how he can be." The truth was.. Makoto hasn't actually had a conversation with Haru about post-graduation plans. Whenever he would try and bring up the subject it would immediately be redirected or only met with tense silence, forcing Makoto to trail off and drop the topic. It's then that he realizes that Haru's own reluctance to share is probably why he hasn't told Haru his own plans yet. Talking about university made Haru uncomfortable and Makoto would never do anything to upset his friend. He simply assumed Haru was undecided, because why else would there be that spilt second of fear Makoto would catch glimpses of in his friend's eyes?

"Tch, he should just go into competitive swimming like me, he would be good at it."

"I.. I don't think it's that simple Rin."

"Yeah, your probably right," Rin sighed, looking back towards the fence where Haru was. "Ah, Makoto! I really think we should go get Haru now," he pointed over to the two cats, which had gone back to aggressive stances while they were talking. They were surprised to see even Haru letting out a hiss, as his black fur rose up along his spine.

The tabby cat looked up at the rapidly approaching humans and made a split second decision to jump off the fence and run away. For a moment Makoto thought Haru was going to give chase to the other cat, blue eyes intensely following the grey feline until it's bushy tail disappeared in the underbrush.

"What the hell was that Haru?!"

"Are you alright? Did other cat attack you?"

The two looked down at Haru in similar disapproving parent stances. Which, unsurprisingly, was met with an annoyed glare from the cat below.

"Don't give me that look," Makoto chastised. "You were about to get into a fight with that cat."

Haru looked away, neither denying nor confirming this accusation.

"Come on, let's catch up with the others," Rin suggested, while using his shoe to lightly push Haru in the direction they had to go.

Haru stumbled a couple inches forward at the push, to only immediately stop and turn around, taking a quick swipe of his claws at Rin's jeans.

Rin was able to mainly dodge the attack, expecting this kind of response. "Is that all you got?" He taunted.

Haru looked about ready to take another swipe at his friend before Makoto placed himself between the two, "Alright, that's enough you guys, the others are probably wondering what's taking us so long."

"Exactly, that's why I gave him a push to get him going."

Makoto gave his friend an exasperated look. That wasn't the reason and they all knew it. Rin had always liked to egg Haru on, mainly when it came to racing, but Makoto wasn't going to argue this fact, since it would just be met with denial.

~ ~ ~ 

Rejoining the tour group, Makoto could tell he hadn't missed much. They had only gotten through two more of the shrine's attractions in the time they were gone. The old lady didn't comment on their rude departure, but simply nodded to acknowledge their return.

And it wasn't long before Rin pulled out his phone again, eyes barely leaving the screen as they walked, but he did look up at the description of the next attraction.

"And this is the Sasuri Neko statue our shrine is also known for. It's said to have healing abilities, that work by rubbing the part of the cat that corresponds with your own ailment." She lifted a hand to rub down the marble cat's spine. "But try as I might these old bones are still just as rickety," she chuckled at her own joke.

At the sound of a loud sigh Makoto glanced over to see Rin wearing a somewhat pained expression on his face. Following his line of sight, he ended up staring at Sousuke's shoulder. Oh. That's right, he had heard about the shoulder injury from Rin. But understandably neither of them wanted to talk about it much, leaving Makoto with the bare minimum of details.

The taller boy, seeming to suddenly notice the attention now on him, turned his head towards them. Rin quickly schooled his face into a more neutral expression, eyes darting away, pretending he hadn't been just staring.

"I know what your thinking," Sousuke slowly said, while shoving his hands into his pockets, "but it's stupid to hope for. I messed up and this is how it has to be now."

Rin looked outraged, "I wasn't thinking about that! ....Okay, fine, I was! But come on, nothing is set in stone. You can still make a recovery... technology and therapy techniques are always improving. You'll be back in the water going pro before you know it!

"Yeah... I guess.." Sousuke agreed halfheartedly, obviously not as sure as Rin.

"You shouldn't just give up!" Frustration leaking out of Rin's voice.

Makoto was a little startled by the intensity of Rin's outburst, but from the sound of it, this was a conversation the two have had before.

Sousuke snorted, "Its not like I want to. But what am I suppose to do? Should I put some faith in this statue and hope something _magical_ happens?"

"Well maybe!? It's better to try than do nothing."

"You think I'm doing nothing?!" The hurt evident in his raised voice.

Everyone took a step back from the two fighting teenagers, not wanting to be caught in the middle of the conflict. This was obviously a touchy topic for the two.

Realizing his words were being taken the wrong way Rin tried to backtrack, "Wait Sous-"

"You think I don't spend hours everyday on physical therapy?!"

"I didn't mea-"

"Well fine, here!" Sousuke roughly placed a hand on the cat statue's shoulder, "happy now? Maybe this cat will bless me with a new shoulder, or hell maybe it'll just turn me into a stupid cat like Nanase there."

Haru flinched at being suddenly called out, taking a few more steps back from the increasing hostile energy.

Rin quickly lost all interest in peacefully ending this at the confrontational tone in his friend's voice. Anger rapidly building up as he gritted his shark-teeth. "Hey, don't be an asshole!"

"Woah, woah, chill you two," Kou tried to step between the agitated swimmers who were now just glaring at each other.

The old woman looked worried and a bit conflicted on what to do. Probably realizing she couldn't do much if a fight broke out between the two strong teenage boys.

Makoto was suddenly jerked down as Nagisa grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to tilt his head near the other boy.

"On the count of three we are going to grab Rin-chan and run," Nagisa whispered.

"Wait what?"

"One...two....three!"

Not knowing exactly what he was suppose to be doing, he followed Nagisa's lead and looped his arm around Rin's elbow. Between the two of them they effectively half pushed the swimmer backwards and away from Sousuke.

"What the hell?! Let me go!"

"Nuhuh RinRin we are taking you away to cool down, right Mako-chan?"

"R-right."

They got a few more steps backwards before Rin violently tugged his arms free, "Ugh, I can walk on my own, just let go, god," spinning around on his heel he stomped away in the direction they had been dragging him.

Nagisa chased after, soon followed by Makoto and Haru. But not before Makoto stopped long enough to tell the others they would meet back up later, and that he would text them once it was all sorted out. Kou gave a somewhat sad smile in acknowledgement, while Rei simply nodded, assuring him he would check his phone regularly.

He stole a glance at Sousuke one last time before turning around, eyes drawn to the clenched fist still resting on the statue's shoulder, and as he watched he saw it unfurl to briefly stroke the marble cat. Only to retrieve the hand a second later, shoving both his hands deep into his jean pockets.

~ ~ ~ 

Nagisa, Rin, and Makoto were sitting on a nearby picnic table in silence, Haru choosing to sit beneath it in the grass, avoiding the awkward atmosphere above. This particular spot allowed them a view of the neighborhood below the hill, most of the people they had spotted earlier now indoors as they hide from the darkening sky, expecting rain.

With a sigh Rin laid his head down on the table, cheek resting on the wood as he looked up at his friend's, "Okay... about how much did I fuck up exactly?"

"Only about thissss much," Nagisa spread out his arms as wide as they could go.

"Nagisa," Makoto warned.

Nagisa brought his arms closer to a reasonable length.

With a groan Rin turned his head so he was complaining directly to the wooden panels. "I didn't mean it that way... and he didn't give me a chance to correct myself. I know that he tries, he tries harder than most people I know, but ..sometimes I just get upset when I think about what he could have had..." The last couple words getting choked up as Rin gets more emotional. Realizing he was tearing up Rin tried to redirect his emotions back into anger, "But ugh, why does he have to have such a short temper?! He should have just pet the stupid statue and cracked a joke or something! But noooo he has to make a big deal out of nothing."

"That's rich coming from you Rin-chan."

"Oi! I'm no-... okay, yeah, I can't actually argue that. But you wanna know something? I'm pretty sure he still doesn't believe Haru is a cat, even with all of you to back me up. That night, when I asked him to drive us, he told me I didn't need to make up _excuses_ to hang out. And then, all day today, he kept glancing over at Haru with such a bewildered and pensive look, as if he was trying to figure out how we had trained a cat to act exactly like our friend. Honestly... all I'm asking is for him to have a little faith in miracles... but once he decides something is impossible, which isn't often, he is pretty stubborn about it.. But what I love about him is that he's pretty stubborn when it comes to the opposite too, when he knows something is possible, he'll give it his all to reach his goal... I just.. I wonder when.. he decided it was impossible..."

Makoto knew what Rin was trying to say, and it hurt his heart to see his friend so obviously distraught. Laying a gentle hand on Rin's back he tried to give encouragement through his solid presence, being unable to come up with the right words at the time.

Luckily he was saved the trouble of trying to come up with a deep, uplifting speech by Nagisa who jumped in, "Wahhh Rin-chan! That's no good! You have to prove to him that not everything that seems impossible is actually that way! It's just a state of mind!"

_Wow, Nagisa could actually give somewhat decent pep talks._

"And furthermore! Where would we even find a cat that likes to swim AND why wouldn't we bring Haru on this trip? I'm pretty amazing at pranks but only the short term ones, a whole day is just excessive, but also what I hope to one-day achieve as a self-proclaimed prank enthusiast."

Ah... _Nagisa totally thinks that Rin's whole monologue was about Sousuke not believing in cat-Haru?!_

"Nagisa I don't think that-"

"Shhh Mako-chan can't you see I'm in the middle of cheering up our friend!?"

He looked over to see that Rin had lifted his head off the table, aiming a confused and annoyed look over at Nagisa. "You.. you don't understand."

"Sure I do Rin-chan. Your upset because Sou-chan doesn't believe you."

"That's not at all what-"

"Well when people don't listen, you have to make them listen! Make him believe!" Nagisa leaned closer so he was almost nose-to-nose with Rin, who leaned away from the overly persistent boy.

Noticing the uncomfortable look on Rin's face Makoto gently pulled Nagisa away, "Nagisa... I think it's something the two of them need to work out themselves."

"I know that Mako-chan! I'm just giving him a push," he explained, accompanied by a pushing arm motion.

"What about I push you down this hill," Rin mumbled under his breath.

Suddenly a drop of rain landed on Makoto's nose, startling him into looking up. The greying sky had fully clouded over now, the sun no where in sight, as dark clouds gathered closer together.

The one drop turned into two, two turned into four, four turned into eight, and before they knew it there was a downpour.

Quickly running back to the main temple they took shelter behind the awning. Not before getting completely soaked of course.

Haru didn't seem too bothered by this as he batted at the falling rain with his paw.

From the other side of the building Rei and Kou walked over, "Glad you guys could join us," turning to look at her brother with an unimpressed expression, "Are you done throwing your temper tantrum?"

Rin looked offended at first, but a smirk quickly took over his face. "I'll show you a temper tantrum," he lunged at his sister, lightly grabbing her in a headlock to playfully ruffle her hair.

"Hey quit it! You big jerk!" She wiggled her way out of the loose hold, looking disgruntled. Kou then proceeded to attempt to fix her now disarrayed ponytail.

Noticing that one member of their group was missing Nagisa asked, "Hey, where did Sou-chan go?"

"He left a little while ago, saying something about forgetting his jacket in the van, but I think it was just an crappy excuse to ditch us since he declined our offer to come along," she explained.

"He at least should have taken the umbrella I offered him," Rei said, while holding up a compact purple umbrella. "I knew those cumulonimbus clouds were going to break into a storm eventually."

A flash of light suddenly filled the sky, cutting the dark grey clouds with jagged bolts of white, soon accompanied by a thundering rumble that vibrated within Makoto's chest.

Startling him, Makoto instinctively went to hide behind Haru, only to remember that Haru was less than a foot tall now, and a cat. His hands nervously twitched at the lack of shoulders to grab onto, he knew it was a bad habit to rely so heavily on his friend for support, but he couldn't help it, so he wrapped his arms around himself to compensate for his usual anchor.

He looked down at the feeling of fur tickling his ankles. Haru had stepped closer to him during his brief panic, close enough to be able to feel the heat from the small cat body radiating onto his own. Makoto was instantly feeling less anxious, ever since they were little kids Haru had been the brave one, allowing Makoto to cling in fear onto him. It was always surprising to him afterwards when his apologies were met with confusion and shy mumbles of 'I don't mind', because, how could Haru not mind? It must be a hassle to have a cowardly friend like him.

He was shook from his own fears as Rei yelled in surprise as Rin took the umbrella from his hand, followed by a few other protests from Kou and Nagisa.

"Where are you going Rin-san?!"

"Rin-chan you can't go out there now! Didn't you see that lightening! It was all BAM!"

"Brother wait!"

Rin turned back around as he opened up the umbrella, "There is no way in hell Sousuke found his way back to the van by himself. He sometimes gets lost just going from the cafeteria to the library! So I'm going to go look for him."

"I'm confident that Yamazaki-san will be fine on his own till the storm lets up.." Rei tried to reason.

"I just.. I would feel better if I knew for sure, he isn't answering my call."

Makoto looked down to Rin's side to see his smartphone resting in his palm, lighten up to show Sousuke's contact picture and a ringing phone icon.

"He's out there because of me... because I got angry and started a fight, just like I always do," red eyes downcast as he looked over at Haru's direction. "I won't be long."

And with that Rin headed out into the rain, soon barely visible as the rain pelted down obscuring their view.

"Should we... should we go after him?" Kou asked.

Makoto opened his mouth to argue that it would be safer to just stay back, Rin would call if anything came up. Besides they didn't have anymore umbrellas, he doubts that Rei packed enough for all of them. But before he could voice these thoughts Nagisa spoke up.

"I saw some umbrellas for sale in the gift shop! I say we buy a couple and go help look!"

Nagisa was never the type to stand around doing nothing, so Makoto really should have seen this coming.

Rei looked hesitant as well as he eyed the steady downpour right outside, "I'm not so sure Nagisa-kun.."

But Nagisa wasn't listening, already making a break across the clearing, quickly becoming soaked by the offending rain. In his haste he practically ran into the gift shop door as the shop employee opened it for him, having noticed him running towards the building.

They stood in shocked silence, unsure if Nagisa was expecting them to follow or wait where they were. But it only took a few minutes before the other boy was running back towards the temple they were under, now protected by a bright blue umbrella, patterned with white paw prints.

"Gosh I'm so glad they were on sale! I was just able to afford one for each of us. Oh by the way, you all owe my 470 yen."

"We didn't even ask you to buy these for us..." Kou muttered.

Nagisa ignored her comment and proceeded to hand out an umbrella to each of them.

The unimpressed look on Rei's face was almost comical, "This...this is not beautiful. Does anyone want to trade?"

Rei opened up his umbrella to reveal a Hello Kitty print design, complete with the mascots white head on top of the cap. The smaller size of it suggesting it was actually meant for little kids.

Nagisa looked way too pleased with his choice. "No, no, you can't trade Rei-chan! I put a lot of thought into each of my choices."

Curious, Kou opened up her umbrella. "Why is mine a cat in space shooting lasers out of its eyes?

"Because its hipster looking?" Nagisa shrugged.

"Excuse you?! I'm not a hipster."

"What's that blog you run then?"

"It's just... a blog.. that is 100% non-hipster in nature."

"Show us then."

"No."

"How many pictures of Makoto's back muscles do you have on there?"

Kou nervously laughed, "Haha, wow, we sure how been standing around for a long time! We should probably catch up with my brother before he gets even farther away!" And with that she lifted her umbrella above her head and jogged out into the rain.

Makoto felt the tips of his ears burning as he opened up his own umbrella, thankfully just a simple green and blue cat pattern. She had told him those pictures were research for anatomy class...

~ ~ ~ 

After walking for five minutes without any sign of either boy, they decided to split up to cover more ground. Since now even Rin wasn't answering his phone.

Nagisa had called dibs on Rei so that left Makoto with Kou, and Haru of course.

The younger girl was quiet for the most part, still embarrassed by Nagisa's tattle, but that didn't bother Makoto too much, as he was already used to carrying mainly one-sided conversations.

It was somewhat difficult for Haru to stay dry though, as the umbrella's protection was limited and there were numerous puddles littering the sidewalk. Normally Makoto would have to hold his friend back at the sight of water, but the muddy-brown consistency of the puddles was deterrent enough. Haru did have standards.

It was only when Haru stepped into a particularly deep puddle that Makoto picked up the dripping wet cat with his free arm, worried that he was going to catch a cold at this rate, plus the sidewalk ahead was more puddle than cement from he could see. Haru let out a meow of protest, legs kicking the air. He adjusted his hold, arm positioned underneath Haru's back legs, with the rest of him draped over his shoulder. Only allowing Haru a better vantage point to meow directly into Makoto's ear.

Leaning his head away from Haru's muzzle Makoto pleaded, "Haru, come on, it won't be for long, I promise." _Hopefully_.

Taking the lack of whiny meows as a good sign he continued walking. Following Kou as she took the path with the least puddles, or at least contained the shallowest parts.

"Hey! I think I see them," Kou squinted through the rain across the street.

Searching in the direction Kou was looking, Makoto saw two figures huddled close together underneath a bus shelter. It was hard to tell who it was through the rain, but Rin's distinct red hair was a dead giveaway.

Makoto was just about to cross the street when Kou grabbed his arm. Puzzled, he looked down at her, while Haru peaked over his shoulder to give her a look as well.

"It looks like they're talking."

Makoto continued to stare at her.

"Emphasis on the _talking_ part."

He made an a soft 'oh' sound. They weren't arguing. So maybe they were working things out. "I guess we should give them some time alone right?"

Kou nodded, "Yeah, I think s-," she was cut off as the direction of the wind suddenly changed, sending the rain down at an angle and under their umbrellas. "NOPE. Never mind, they can continue their conversation once we get out of this storm."

She quickly looked both ways before speed walking across the street, followed closely by Makoto, who easily kept pace with his longer legs.

Kou lifted her hand to wave at the two, getting ready to call out their names, but the words got caught in her throat at the sight before her.

Sousuke had leaned closer to Rin, ducking his head down to press his mouth against the other boy's lips. Rin's eyes were glossy and red rimmed, like he had just been crying, but he responded to Sousuke's advancements, kissing back without much hesitation.

It was only when Rin tilted his head to get a better angle that Kou uttered a surprised, "Holy shit."

Makoto gave her a somewhat admonishing look, "Kou"

"Um, I mean, holy crap?"

Rin did not set a good example for his younger sister honestly. Though Makoto had to admit, her exclamation expressed how he felt as well.

At the sudden exclamation the two jumped apart. Rin's face heating up to a bright pink color as he tried to sputter out an excuse. Impressively, Sousuke was able to keep up a somewhat cool facade, if not for the slight fidgeting.

After attempting a few half-finished excuses, that were only met with frozen wide eyed looks, Rin gave up and growled, "Y-you guys didn't see anything! Got it?"

"You can't seriously expect us to forget that!? Do you?!" Kou exclaimed, throwing her one free hand into the air. "You were just having an intense make-out session right in front of us."

"That wasn't even that intense, what the hell are you- okay no. I'm not having this conversation. Just drop it."

"Gou, you probably should just drop it.." Sousuke said, backing Rin up. But backtracked a little bit at the glare she was sending them, "..for right now at least."

"Okay, fine! Only 'cause I'm freezing out here. But don't think this is over brother!"

"God damn it," Rin muttered, not looking forward to that talk at all.

With some difficulty, balancing the umbrella between his shoulder and cheek, Makoto pulled out his cellphone to call up Rei and Nagisa, and let them know that they had found them. While the dial tone rang, he glanced down at Haru to see him staring at Rin and Sousuke. It was harder to make out Haru's expressions with his new cat features, but he thinks he recognized surprise, and... sadness? He was partly guessing on the second one, based on his intuition, but it made sense, he had always suspected his friend to have a crush on Rin. Ever since grade-school, Rin had been the one to liven up Haru's life, pushing him to a higher stage, and igniting something in his friend that he could never hope to. Makoto admits, he has always been a little jealous of this connection, this drive that existed between them, but even on those occasions when he would feel a tightness close in on his chest and words get caught in his throat, he would never step forward, he would simply watch, because he would never get in the way of what Haru wanted. Besides, he wasn't even sure what he himself wanted? His best friend's attention? Maybe he was scared of losing him? Or maybe, he just wanted Haru to drive away the loneliness he felt whenever they were apart. When Sousuke and Rin had become a couple, a tiny thrill had when through him, unrelated to the happiness he felt for their relationship, he didn't know what it meant, but an accompanying feeling of guilt had wiggled its way in as well. These feelings were similar to how he felt now, the same satisfaction, the same guilt, the same confusion. He should want his best friend to be with the one he likes, right? That's what he should want as Haru's friend, right? Then why is he happy Haru doesn't stand a chance anymore with Rin? His minds supplies him with the unhelpful thought that, maybe, he was just a needy person, self-centered in his own interests.

He was snapped out of his inner turmoil by the sound of Rei answering his call. Quickly clearing his throat, Makoto went on to tell them where they currently were and that they would be waiting inside a nearby hardware store to escape the rain.

Jogging over to the store, they quickly filed in and shook out their umbrellas, much to the dismay of the employee who was already mopping up puddles from earlier costumers.

Sousuke looked up at the sky through the store's window, "Hopefully this storms passes by quickly so we can leave before nightfall."

"We still have a good fours hours before it starts to get dark, we should be fine.. it'll work out.." Makoto assured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > Ahaha... sorry this chapter had a lot more angst in it than I intended ^^" idk what to say, the sourin angst-ball just kept picking up speed as I kept writing. BUT I did give their relationship a kick forward, so that's good. Haha they made more progress than the main pairing of this fic.. this whole chapter kinda centered around them...oops  
> > DANG that inner monologue got long. Basically Makoto is at that stage where he feels jealous at Haru's interest in Rin (which isn't actually there? he just thinks its something because of the flashy energy between the two when they race), he doesn't know exactly why he feels jealous, but he feels guilty about feeling this way since he doesn't believe he was a right to. He wants what's best for Haru, even if that means he would have to let go. Ahhh, i'm not the best at writing emotions but I will try and improve  
> > Next chapter will refocus on Haru!! And it will not take a month to make, I promise! I already have 1/4 of it done :D  
> > Why did the spirit feel hostile towards Haru? What did he talk about with the other cat? All this and more will be answered next chapter. We aren't done with the shrine yet!  
> > Kou's umbrella actually does exist: [picture](http://www.dhresource.com/albu_1085302523_00/1.260x260.jpg)


	5. Curiosity Killed the Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This wraps up our shrine visit saga ! y a y

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and took advantage of all those Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals!! I know I sure did

Unsurprisingly the storm didn't let up, continuing just as strong for a good few hours. Long enough that they decided they should just rent a hotel room. Driving in the rain was bad enough, but it was going to be dark as well, and everyone knows that rain and darkness is a bad combination for any driver. Unfortunately since it was a somewhat suburban area they best they could find was a small inn. Limiting their room choices down substantially, so that they were stuck with only two rooms. One being a single queen bedroom and the other having two double beds.

"Soooo two per bed, simple enough. Rock-paper-scissors to see who goes with who!" Nagisa threw out his arm in preparation for the game.

"Woah woah wait, no way is my sister going to be sharing a bed with one of you guys."

"It's okay, I don't mind," Kou shrugged, side eyeing Makoto's biceps.

"Well I do. It's not like I don't trust everyone here but.. I don't know, it's just weird. So your going to be bunking with me."

"Wow, gee thanks, my honor feels so protected now," Kou replied sarcastically.

"Okay, well if we're picking partners... then I pick Rei-chan!" Nagisa latched onto the other boy's arm. "So that means Mako-chan and Sou-chan are together by default."

Haruka looked up from his grooming at this comment, tongue still half sticking out of his mouth. For some reason that decision didn't sit right with him. He couldn't explain exactly why it irked him, but it did.

It was only when they started to settle in for the night that the nagging feeling grew stronger within Haruka. He watched from atop the tv stand as the others unpacked a few things here and there and got ready for bed.

Nagisa and Rei took the one double bed by the window while Makoto and Sousuke squeezed onto the other. Rin and Kou were given the other room with the queen bed since it was the 'gentlemanly thing to do', as Kou had said while arguing over it. But honestly, as Haruka watched the two massive boys try to arrange themselves comfortably on the slightly too small bed, it was obvious they should have taken it. _Or maybe Sousuke should just sleep on the floor._

Laying side-by-side their broad shoulders lightly touched, before Makoto scooted a little to the side to give Sousuke more room.

Irritation flooded through Haruka, his friend was just a little _too_ nice sometimes, and if Sousuke somehow ended up with all the blankets by the end of the night it wouldn't surprise him one bit. As a little kid, when they had shared a bed during sleepovers, Haruka would sometimes wake up to see Makoto with barely any blanket for himself, instead curling in on himself for warmth. Irritated even back then, Haruka would let out a huff before going to find a second blanket to drape over his friend, instead of sharing one that would undoubtably lead to an unconscious tug of war. But Sousuke isn't him, and Sousuke doesn't know that Makoto is not the type to complain, even if he was uncomfortable.

But to his surprise, Sousuke did do his share of scooting over, so neither boy was hanging off the edge of the bed. And while this should have sated his irritation he found it was still quite present.

Eyeing Sousuke's hat that sat near him, on top of the stand, he had the sudden urge to knock it off and onto the floor. But that would be entirely too childish, so he resisted.

Turning off the bedroom lights Haruka's eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, pupils dilating to take in more light. Which is how he noticed Sousuke turn over, onto his side, so he was facing Makoto.

_Oops_. There goes his hat.

Haruka whacked the black apparel of the stand, with probably more force than necessary. He had no idea why he did that, but the satisfaction, from hearing the soft thud of the hat's landing, was all he cared about at the moment.

Jumping down from his perch he made his way over to the side of the bed, peeking up at Makoto over the edge of the mattress. _There was no way he was asleep that fast_. And his assumption was proven correct when Makoto cracked open his eyes slightly, only to stiffen at the sight of Haruka's pupils reflecting an eerie yellow glow. His eyes being the only visible part of Haruka as his black fur blended in with the darkness of the room. But Makoto quickly relaxed once realizing it was just him.

Haruka let out a soft sound, more like a squeak than a meow, and waited for Makoto to respond. His friend, obviously not sure what he wanted, just tilted his head at Haruka. Honestly, he wasn't really sure what he wanted himself, but he knew Makoto _had_ to pay attention to _him_.

Letting out a yawn, Makoto patted the blanket by his side, inviting him up. Haruka wasted no time in jumping up onto the bed. Gingerly stepping over Makoto's legs, he pushed his way between the two boys. Curling up so his back was against Makoto's thigh, and legs pushing against Sousuke. Haruka stretched out, feet digging into the taller boy's leg, feeling him shift further away from the touch. He could feel teal eyes glaring at him.

Letting out a satisfied purr, Haruka drifted off to sleep.

~ ~ ~ 

It was a few hours later when he awoke to the sound of a garbage can being knocked over outside. Followed by the yip of what he assumed was a fox, or possibly a cat.

Ears standing up straight, and brain on high alert, he was suddenly wide awake. His senses tuned into any noise coming from outside, but it was all quiet, just the low breathing of his friends, and the occasional snore filled the air. Now unable to fall back asleep his mind couldn't help wandering back to the conversation he had with the grey tabby at the shrine.

All he had wanted was some answers about that apparition that had almost attacked him. But to his annoyance the other cat was not so willing to give out these answers, hissing at him as soon as he approached.

He was only able to gain the tabby's attention by mentioning his encounter with the calico spirit. _At least he assumed it was a spirit._ Haruka's grandmother had once told him that cats and other animals were closer to the spirit world than humans were; able to sense natural disasters before they occurred, see things that people couldn't see, and behaved strangely in places supernatural forces were thought to reside. Haruka's logical side dictated that all those instances had to be coincidence, or just strange animal behavior. Because even at the young age of five, Haruka Nanase was a skeptical boy, he didn't even believe in Santa Claus, knowing that it was just a story all parents told their children to encourage good behavior. But his grandma had never lied to him, she had never tried to persuade him that the easter bunny or the tooth fairy were real, he could trust her. And his little five year old self had taken her words to heart, spending the next week observing the neighborhood cats, hoping to catch a glimpse of what they saw. But he was a human then and had seen nothing, the situation was different now.

Moss green eyes narrowed as the other cat looked down at Haruka. Seeming to size him up before deciding he was serious.

"If you actually saw the spirit like you say you did, my advice would be to leave this shrine when you get the chance. I've never seen it myself but I was told stories from my mother, and from what I gather, the Omatsu spirit rarely shows itself. So you must have done something pretty bad to piss it off." The cat lifted his hind leg to rapidly scratch behind his ear, more at ease now that he knew Haruka wasn't another tom-cat trying to take his territory.

Haruka was dumbstruck, he couldn't think of a single thing he had done to anger a long dead cat spirit. "Are my friends and I in any danger being here?"

The tabby stopped scratching and turned back towards Haruka, "Like I would know.... probably? maybe? but it's a powerful spirit and your just a scrawny kit, it could have gotten rid of you easily by now if it wanted to, so you might be okay?"

_Or maybe it just got distracted from attacking, because Rin showed up,_ he thought ruefully.

As Haruka was considering asking what the fastest way out of here was, his thoughts latched onto a detail, making his eyes widen as he realized something, "How powerful is the spirit exactly? What kind of powers does it have?" If this spirit was so powerful maybe it could change him back to normal. But, thinking back to the hostile aura he had felt... it might be hard to get the spirit's help.

"You sure are nosey," the grey tabby scrunched up his nose in distaste. "I don't know any specific details, kid. I'm just here hoping you didn't anger the spirit enough to make it hang around. It is a spirit born from revenge after all. Nasty business."

His blue eyes narrowed in annoyance. Haruka finally found a lead that could possibly change him back into a human, but he can't get any information because this cat is choosing to be the most unhelpful person ever. He came to this shrine to fix this situation and that's what he is going to do. So instead of trying to explain his problem to the other cat, he went the direct route. "I need to see the spirit again."

The other cat's eyes widened in confusion, blinking perplexedly at Haruka. "Didn't you hear anything I said?"

"Yes. You said it was a powerful cat spirit."

"That's not- that's not the point.. The history of that cat involves bloodshed and revenge, the few stories describing its appearances involve not so happy situations."

Haruka just stared up at the other cat blankly. He had already felt the intimidating presence of the spirit, he could handle it now that he knew what he was getting into, _at least he hoped he could._ Thinking back, the spirit had disappeared as soon as Rin showed up, suggesting that the spirit didn't like the presence of humans. He would probably have a better chance coming back at night. He shivered a little thinking about encountering it in the darkness of the night.

Shaking his head, he tried to get rid of those fears. "I'm coming back later tonight."

At this the other cat let out a hiss. "No. You are not!" A low rumble was emanating from the tabby's throat, the hostile tone not lost on Haruka. "Your inviting negative energy into this place, my home, and I won't allow it."

Haruka's fur puffed up in response to the other cat's hostility, whether in fear or anger he wasn't sure. But he felt a fight coming on, and the energy racing through his veins made his claws itch to come out. He wasn't even sure if he could win a cat fight but thankfully he was saved from finding out when Makoto and Rin had run over, successfully chasing away the tabby from his perch atop the fence.

That whole encounter leaving him in his current situation; Curled up on the bed contemplating whether or not it was a stupid idea to go back to the shrine on such a small chance. Okay, it was a stupid idea, that part wasn't up for debate, but... could he really pass up this opportunity to fix this mess? All his friends have been super supportive, and they were trying their best to keep up a positive attitude, but it was obvious they were lost on how to actually help him.

Haruka let out a long sigh. Why couldn't everything just be simple and clear cut. Was that too much to ask?

Getting up, he jumped off the bed and padded over towards the window, squinting up at the moonlight shining in. The sky had cleared up greatly from earlier, there was still the occasional storm cloud, but not nearly as many as earlier. Eyes roaming downward he noticed the window was cracked open a little bit, someone must have gotten up to open it for fresh air once it had stopped raining. His guess would have to be Nagisa, since the younger boy was never a fan of stuffy quiet rooms, instead preferring the sounds from outside to create a sort of background noise to keep the silence at bay.

He could probably just squeeze through the space if he tried.

Taking a breath Haruka jumped up onto the chair resting beside the window. _Okay... if he can fit, he will go confront the spirit, if he can't, he won't go, simple as that._

Pushing his head into the opening, ears bending against his skull, he vaguely remembered the fact that if a cats head could fit then the rest of the cat would surely follow. But as his head poked out, he found that fact hard to believe, there was no way his shoulders could make it through.

But before fully giving up on this endeavor, he pushed off with his hind legs and maneuvered onto his side slightly, making the angle more doable. Haruka was surprised at the ease his limbs contorted in the small space, and his surprise soon turned into shock as he slipped fully out of the window. Falling a few feet to land in the bushes below, Haruka violently thrashed around until he ungracefully fell out of the branches and into the grass. _So much for cats always landing on their feet._

Shaking out the random leaves sticking to his fur, he took a look around the small garden, it was pretty modest, with just a few bushes lining a cobble path, and several garden gnomes decorating the lawn. It could really use a koi pond or a bird bath at least, he thought to himself. Haruka made his way over to the street, paws halfway sinking into the still soaked dirt. Once hitting solid cement he shook out his legs one at a time to remove any excess moisture. He really needed a bath, in more ways than one.

Turning towards the hill on which the shrine resided Haruka braced himself, _the sooner he got this over with the sooner he could go back to normal and take a bath._ With that motivation in mind, he set a quick pace towards the shrine, paws sinking into the occasional puddle as he raced along the sidewalk.

~ ~ ~ 

If he thought the shrine was creepy during the day, it was even more ominous at night. The moonlight casting the occasional glow onto the stone steps, reflecting brightly off of the water collected in the cracks of the rock. The cat statues half covered in shadows still stood their ground as he padded past. Besides the soft thumping of his own footfalls everything was quiet, only the gentle rustling of leaves, a continuous humming of insects, and the occasional jingle of a wind-chime broke the silence.

Approaching the main temple, Haruka tried not to think about how this was probably a bad idea. Even though the rational part of his brain kept nagging at him to pay attention to it. _There had to be a better way to turn him back to normal._

Circling the building a few times he realized that he didn't have a clue what he was doing. Not only was this dangerous, but what if the spirit didn't show up at all? He didn't even know what triggered it's appearance the first time.

Sitting down under the arch of the entrance, Haruka planned to wait it out. Have the spirit come to him, since it clearly held a grudge against him for whatever reason.

But after what felt like hours of waiting Haruka was getting annoyed. The cement floor underneath him was cold and that cold had radiated up into his bones, making him shiver and fluff his fur up. Not to mention his eyelids had begun to feel heavier, as sleep pulled at edges of his vision.

"I'd prefer it attack me at this point..." he mumbled to himself.

Slowly getting up, he padded over to the string board with the wooden plaques hanging from it. Maybe he could pass the time by reading.

Glancing over a few of them, they were pretty generic.

[ _Please bring long life and happiness to my cat Maki_ ]

[ _Mittens has been throwing up lately, please help her feel better soon :)_ ]

[ _Help my cat Jumin return home safely_ ]

But, there was the occasional oddball thrown in.

[ _My cat Roger keeps destroying the furniture instead of his scratching post, wtf is wrong with him?_ ]

[ _George keeps stealing my pudding when I'm not looking!? How do I stop this? I'm worried it's bad for him_ ]

[ _I think my cat is up to something? She always has this smug look on her face like she is up to no good, but I'm not sure what I can do???_ ]

People sure had some.... interesting prayers.

Padding around to the other side of the board he was able to spot his friend's plaques. He would recognize Nagisa's atrocious and bubbly handwriting anywhere.

But as he started to read them something strange happened. His vision went in and out of focus, even as he squinted to try and correct the change. The lines of the kanji didn't align in any discernible words. Seeming to float off the plaque only to settle back down where they were originally. But he just... couldn't read it.

Squinting as hard as he could, he tried to make out what Makoto had written down. He thinks he can recognize his name, and vaguely recognize the symbols for hope and home, but he isn't sure.

Haruka had no idea what was happening and it aggravated him. He _should_ be able to read this.

Quickly running back around to the plaques he had read earlier he found that he couldn't read them anymore either. He was pretty sure the kanji had remained the same, but he just wasn't processing what the symbols stood for.

Just as he was about to go into a panic he heard a low hiss behind him.

Turning around, Haruka saw the grey tabby from earlier, and he did _not_ look happy.

"I thought I told you to stay away!" He growled, while prowling towards Haruka, tail flicking back and forth, "This is MY territory and I don't want you hanging around it!"

Haruka stiffened in place, unsure what to do. Any sudden moves could provoke this guy into attacking, and getting into a fight was the last thing he wanted to do tonight. He noticed that this cat had been a lot more wary last time they talked, probably because there had been humans around, but without his friends here... there was nothing to hold this guy back.

Slowly inching backwards, he tried to avoid making eye contact, instead looking at the tabby's paws as they came closer. Instinctively his fur flattened to make himself look smaller.

"I'm leaving now okay?" He took a couple more steps back, "See?"

But the tom-cat didn't seem to be in a talkative mood like he was earlier, pouncing at Haruka with claws extended.

Dodging to the left, he just managed to avoid the attack, feeling the fur of the other cat tickle his whiskers. Haruka quickly spun around on his heels to make his getaway, a shrill hiss right behind him. He skipped the steps altogether and jumped straight to the ground below, landing heavily on his front legs, jostling him a little.

Taking a right to round the corner of the temple, he spotted a nearby bush, branches low hanging but enough of a gap for him to fit under. Hastily crawling underneath, he turned himself around to be able to face the opening, and not a second too soon as the tom-cat appeared from around the corner, tail lashing angrily and movements aggressive in nature. The other cat raised his grey muzzle into the air, mouth half open and breathing deep.

It took Haruka a second to realize what the other cat was doing. _Crap!_ He hadn't been thinking, and forgot that hiding wouldn't work as a cat hiding from another cat.

Scooting back as far as he could go, his rear hit the main stem of the bush. He had so many regrets right now. The main one being his stupid decision to leave the hotel room. He should have just woken up Makoto to draw him a bath instead.

Watching with baited breathe, the grey tabby crept closer. _There was no way he didn't smell Haruka now._ But to his surprise the other cat suddenly got spooked, jumping up and turning mid-air, eyes wide as he stared at something Haruka couldn't see from this angle. A loud yelp echoed across the clearing as Haruka watched the tom-cat, now a grey blur, run out of sight in the opposite direction Haruka was currently hidden.

Slowing his breathing, Haruka listened for any sign of what had frightened the other cat. But after a few silent minutes, and the pounding of his heart returning to normal, he slowly peaked his head out of his hiding place.

The clearing was empty, not a soul in sight.

The grass swayed as the wind buffeted it to the side, making a low whir as it cut through the night air.

One paw at a time, Haruka crept out into the moonlight. Still hyper aware of his surroundings as he tried to orient himself on where he needed to go to leave this place. They would find another way to turn him back. This wasn't worth it.

Suddenly the feeling from earlier returned.

He was being watched.

He could see his breath as he let out a scared mewl.

But unlike last time, he didn't have to wait in anticipation long. His eyes drawn to the yellow glow emanating from the shadows beneath a nearby bench. A set of golden eyes watched him carefully.

Unable to tear his gaze away Haruka could only watch as the golden eyes narrowed and the cat walked out into the moonlight. It appeared more solid than last time, the black and orange patches, that had been more of a swirling kaleidoscope, were now only drifting a minuscule distance along the white pelt before returning to their original spot. Its fur also seemed less transparent, the white reflecting the moonlight and making it hard, but not impossible, to see the grass behind it.

It stopped a short distance from Haruka, and without opening its mouth he heard a voice echo in his ears, "Do not worry, I no longer mean you any harm."

The voice was female, a deeper timbre than most girls in his class, but as it echoed in his mind he could just make out the lighter tilt it had at the end of her words.

But her assurance did not ease his anxiety. "...no longer?"

He stiffened as the she-cat wrapped herself around him. Circling against him and rubbing their fur together. The feeling was most similar to someone lightly tickling him, the other cats fur somewhat phasing through his own. It was a weird feeling, and all he knew was that he _didn't like it._ Haruka was NOT a fan of unwanted touches.

Quickly pulling away from the she-cat he glared warily at her.

She didn't seem surprised by this reaction. "When I had first sensed your aura entering this shrine, I hadn't known what to make of it. The presence you have is like nothing I've felt before. It is not that of a fellow feline, and it not that of a two-leg. It is something more.... twisted. Not born of positive energies... so you can't blame me for being wary of you at first."

Haruka thought that 'wary' wasn't the right word to use, _more like straight up aggressive._ But he didn't voice this out loud, mainly because he didn't like the look she was giving him. Too cold and calculating. As if she was trying to solve a complicated sudoku puzzle that she'd been stuck on for awhile now.

Not giving a response, she continued on, "I'm right to assume this isn't your true form, correct?" She asked while narrowing her eyes. "Were you cursed like I was?"

"I'm not sure why I'm like this.. I just woke up this way."

This seemed to have surprised her, golden eyes widening and blinking in confusion. "Impossible. There is always an explanation. Curses don't just happen."

"Well this one did." Raising his voice a little bit Haruka let some of his irritation and distress leak into his voice, "What about YOU? What did you do?"

The she-cat stiffened, hackles raising, and with a voice as cold as ice she responded, "I took the life of those that dared to take away the life of my master."

The wind started to pick up again, chilling Haruka to his bones and pushing the clouds over the moon, covering them in darkness. The patches on her white coat started to swirl faster and drift off her fur, flickering between transparent and solid.

"There is a _reason_ I was cursed. I am now forever bound to this place. Forced to wait here for all of eternity, unable to rejoin my master and his wife in the afterlife."

"So.. so this is some sort of punishment..? B-but I didn't do anything! What did I do.... what did I do to be turned into a cat."

The wind started to settle down, back into a whisper like it was before. The hostile energy that had been building receded back into the shadows.

"Why do you consider that a punishment?"

"W-what?"

"What I'm enduring _is_ a punishment, and I can't say I don't deserve it." Her eyes locked onto his, conveying her feelings of conviction. "But not for one second do I regret my actions. Those were horrible people and I did what I thought was right, knowing fully well what my own fate would be if I went down that path. But... if you are really free of sin like you claim you are, then maybe this isn't what you think it is."

Haruka tilted his head in confusion. What else could this be besides a curse? It's not like he made a wish to his fairy godmother to turn him into a cat. And let's be honest, if he could wish to become any animal it would be a dolphin... or at least some water dwelling creature.

"The energy I sense from you is twisted like I said, but now that I look closer there is a certain... grace coupled with the negativity I was feeling earlier. It's quite peculiar. Have you maybe considered that becoming a cat is this world's way of saving you?"

This cat was honestly making less and less sense the longer she talked. How could a curse have both positive and negative qualities to it? Or maybe she was saying this isn't a curse at all. Meaning what exactly? This sure didn't feel like a blessing.

"Well I don't need saving from anything, so it would be nice if the world could just change me back already," he sighed.

The she-cat let out a purr of amusement, "If only things were so simple."

Besides for the small outburst of icy hostility she had let out, the spirit didn't seem too unbalanced. He should just ask the question he had come here to ask in the first place. But now knowing she was just another victim of forces beyond their control he doubted she would be able to help him.

Well there was only one way to find out.

Taking a deep breath he asked, "Does this mean you can't help me return back to my human form?"

There was an amused glimmer in her golden eyes, "Is that why you came here? In hopes that I could be of some supernatural assistance?"

"Yes.." Haruka hesitantly answered. He didn't like the tone of her voice. She sounded way too entertained by his plea.

"Two-legs come here all the time in hopes of helping their cats. Making wishes, writing down prayers, but i'll let you in on a secret... I don't help any of them. All prayers that come true are mere coincidences. Happy accidents. Because people will believe anything to make themselves feel better. But, don't get me wrong, I do have some power, I simply use it at my own discrepancy."

Annoyed at the avoidance of a direct answer Haruka huffed, "So is that a yes or no?"

Instead of answering, the she-cat turned around, stalking off towards the shadows of the low hanging trees. Sparing a single glance back at Haruka, cheshire grin spread across her face, "I think I'd rather let this play out."

"Hey! Wait!" Haruka called, as he ran to catch up to her.

But the second her body passed under the shadows she disappeared. Leaving Haruka standing by himself squinting into the darkness.

_Why did everything have to be so difficult?!_

With a heavy heart Haruka slowly turned around and dragged his paws in the direction of the hotel.

_I guess I can tell Amakata-san I figured out what my profession will be: Mouse Catcher._

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Watching from the shadows atop the temple roof, her sharp eyes followed the form of the black tomcat leaving the shrine.

She did feel somewhat bad for the kit, he had seemed genuinely distressed by his current predicament, and despite her cold demeanor she wasn't heartless, just acted that way sometimes due to decades of isolation. But, she wasn't going to admit to this stranger that she didn't have the power to reverse whatever this spell, curve, or blessing was that was placed on him.

_Whatever spirit did this, there is no doubt it had a strong belief in what it was doing._

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Makoto woke up to the sound of Nagisa getting ready in the bathroom, humming loudly as he brushed his teeth. The tv was already on and broadcasting the local news channel, the newscaster was standing in front of images of a car accident involving a semi truck. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes he blindly reached down with his other hand to feel for Haru. Coming up with nothing, not even a lingering heat, he sat up in bed to look around.

"Ah good morning Makoto-senpai"

Makoto turned to see Rei already dressed and ready, sitting on the other bed holding a book in one hand. _How did Rei have the energy to read at this hour?_

"G'morning..." He nodded at the other boy. Throwing the covers off of him and scooting out of bed, careful not to wake Sousuke who was still out like a light.

Taking another brief look around the room he still didn't spot Haru. Crouching down to look under the bed Rei seemed to catch onto what he was doing and joined Makoto on the floor.

"I hadn't seen Haruka-senpai all morning so I assumed he was under the covers of the blanket."

Makoto sat up and turned his head towards the bed that was still occupied, which was now eyesight level due to his spot on the floor. "No, Haru wasn't next to me when I woke up...."

Watching the larger boy's steady breathing, something clicked in Makoto's brain. _DID SOUSUKE ACCIDENTALLY CRUSH HARU!?_

Standing up so fast he almost got dizzy, Makoto leaned over and started shaking Sousuke, careful to avoid his shoulder. "Sousuke! SOUSUKE! Wake up!"

Startled awake, Sousuke was severely disoriented, "AH, wha- for the love 'f god- I'm up I'm up!"

"Sousuke you don't feel anything do you?! DO YOU FEEL ANYTHING WEIRD UNDERNEATH YOU?! LIKE A SOFT LUMP?!"

"What are you- ?"

Half being pushed off the bed, half trying to back away from Makoto, Sousuke slipped off the bed, dragging the blankets with him as he landed on his rear on the hard wood flooring.

His heart was beating a mile a minute as he searched the now empty bed. Rei joining him as he picked up the blanket to get a better view.

"I don't think Haruka-senpai is here.. maybe he's in the bathroom with Nagisa-kun?" Rei suggested hesitantly, unsure himself since he had been in the bathroom earlier and hadn't sent their now-feline friend.

"What the hell.. did you really think I could roll on top of Nanase without noticing," Sousuke mumbled grumpily.

Just as Makoto was going to demand that Sousuke stand up and prove Haru hadn't fallen off the bed with him, he heard a quiet scrapping sound.

Everyone went quiet to better hear the sound. For a second there was no noise besides Nagisa still shuffling around in the bathroom. But then it started up again, a distinct up and down scratching sound.

Makoto and Rei exchanged a look before going over to the hotel room door.

Cracking the door open just a bit to peek out, Makoto felt a soft thump against his leg. Looking down he saw a black paw reaching through the doorway, attempting to push the door the rest of the way open but failing.

Letting out a sigh of relief, he opened the door the rest of the way. "Oh thank god."

Haru was sitting at the base of the door looking up at him. Letting out a couple of short 'mrrps' before entering the room.

Haru quickly brushed past the two boys and made his way to the bathroom. Pushing the semi-closed door open with his head and slipping inside. Leaving Makoto standing in the doorway perplexed. _Why had Haru been outside the hotel room?_

A chipper greeting from Nagisa could be heard echoing off the porcelain walls of the bathroom, followed by the sound of the sink being turned on.

The next second Nagisa appeared in the doorway

"Haru-chan is taking control of the sink so you might have to wait to brus-" Nagisa stopped mid-sentence to take in the sight of the disheveled bed and Sousuke still sitting on the floor. "Aww what did I miss?" Nagisa whined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> > Haru was having trouble reading, because he is still slowly becoming more cat-like. I tried to research a little, and as far as I can tell cats don't have a language processing center, or if they do it's not very developed. There doesn't seem to be much conclusive research done on it, but cats seem to rely more on tone of voice and is processed more as an emotion than a word in their brain (why am I trying to make a fic about haru turning into a freaking cat logical??? who knows)  
> > Next chapter we will return to our regularly scheduled fluff :)


	6. Gotta Stay Pawsitive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the shrine visit turning out to be a bust, what will their next step be? Is there even a next step? Or will Haru have to get used to being a cat?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey sorry for the big gap between chapters there. I am studying abroad in Sweden this semester and the past month has been pretty hectic. BUT you'll be happy to hear that this chapter is the longest yet! A whopping 8,500+ words! How it got that long is beyond me ^^" 
> 
> Also, I'm just going to note that this is about the half-way point for the story (if all goes as planned that is)

It was mid afternoon by the time Sousuke was dropping them off in Iwatobi, the drive back had taken a few hours longer than expected since they had stopped for lunch and a couple bathroom breaks, at the insistence of Nagisa, who had thought it was a good idea to drink an entire liter of Coca Cola all by himself.

Climbing out of the van, Makoto waved goodbye to the rest of the group with a promise to keep them updated.

"Me and Rei-chan will stop over later once we drop our stuff off!" Nagisa said while climbing from the back row to occupy the now vacant middle seat.

"Nagisa-kun we have a test tomorrow to prepare for."

"Okay so _I'll_ be stopping over later."

"This test is worth 33% of our overall grade in the class."

A confused look took over Nagisa's face, "....so?"

Rei let out a sigh, palm landing on his face in exasperation.

"Nagisa it's okay. I'll tell you if anything changes," Makoto reassured his friend.

Still looking like he wanted to argue more, Nagisa slouched down further into his seat. "Okayy, fine, but I expect updates!" Buckling his seatbelt, Nagisa went to grab the handle of the door to slide it closed, stopping halfway he made eye contact with Haru. "In a way your kind of lucky Haru-chan, I wish I was a cat right now so I could get out of this test."

Shuffling his paws, Haru looked somewhat bothered by that comment, but in a spilt second the emotion passed as the van started back up with a loud roar. Prompting Nagisa to actually fully shut the door in preparation.

"Hey, Makoto," Rin called from the passenger window. "Message me if you need anything."

"Of course."

"And Haru!" Rin waited for the black cat to turn his attention to him before continuing. "You better turn back soon. Otherwise when we race next I'm going to demolish you even more than normal."

Makoto could see the hairs rising along Haru's spine at the challenge.

"Your NOT going to race Nanase as a cat Rin."

Rin turned around to face Sousuke, "That's not what I meant," He paused a second before mumbling. "I would totally win that too though."

Sousuke snorted before shifting the gears of the van, "Later you two."

"See ya guys."

Makoto and Haru stood there along the edge of the road till the van was out of sight, neither of them knowing exactly what to do now. The shrine plan had seemed like their best bet at the time, and now that it was a bust they were back to square one.

"I guess we should head back to your house?" Makoto meant to say it as a suggestion, but it came out more like a question, because really, what else could they do?

Taking the lead, Haru padded ahead towards the path that cut directly towards their houses. The walk back was quiet, usually the silence was filled with random chatter that consisted of whatever came to Makoto's mind, but he was too deep in thought for that right now. Instead he tried to use the silence to come up with their next plan of action, or at the least a direction to go in.

But by the time they reached home he still hadn't come up with anything good. The best he got was just dressing up Haru like a person and hoping no-one would noice. Aka he had nothing.

Letting himself in through Haru's front door, with the spare key he had taken with him, Makoto awkwardly stopped in the entranceway for a few seconds.

Noticing the lack of footsteps behind him, Haru came to a halt halfway down the hallway, turning around to see why Makoto wasn't with him anymore.

"Ah, sorry Haru, but I really should tell my mom I'm back first. You know how she worries."

Blue eyes blinked up at him in response.

"I'll be back in a few minutes."

Seeing Haru sit down on the hardwood floor, Makoto took that as the go-ahead to leave.

Briskly taking the steps two at a time he got back to his house in record speed. Besides maybe the time he had forgotten Haru's birthday present in his bedroom as a kid. He had practically tripped down the stairs in his hurry to retrieve the present before Haru could notice his absence from the party. Of course Haru had noticed, but that was probably more from the way Makoto had been heavily breathing and sweating by the time he got back.

Opening the front door with a cheery "I'm home", he was greeted with the excited faces of his siblings.

"Onii-chan's back!" Ren shouted from the staircase.

"Guess what?! Guess what!?" Ran asked in tandem as she ran up to him.

"What? What?"

"Mom and dad have to go away for a few days so the house is all ours!" Ran explained.

"I'm gonna eat pancakes for dinner every night," Ren chimed in.

"Eh? Where are they going? And Ren no, what..?"

Just as he was about to ask more questions his mother stepped in to take control of her rowdy children, "Alright, alright. Enough," she said as she patted Ran on the head. "Sorry this is such short notice sweetie but your father and I need to head down to Shikoku for a few days. Your grandfather sprained his back and needs help getting to the doctor's office for initial testing and all that."

"Oh! Is he okay?"

"Fine, fine. He was trying to insist he didn't need a doctors visit at all, but your father managed to convince him that he at least needed to go once to make sure it isn't anything more serious than a sprain."

"And mom said we could have waffles for dinner while she is gone," Ren added on with an over the top smile directed at their mother, probably trying to use his position as the youngest child, by eight minutes, to his advantage.

"I did no such thing young man."

Ren didn't look too put out by this, instead turning the puppy eyes towards Makoto. _Darn it_. Ren knew his older brother was a softy and wasn't afraid to take advantage of that. With a sigh Makoto already started planning how he could sneak fruits into the waffles to make them at least somewhat nutritious in value.

"Makoto," his mother said in a warning tone. "No waffles, _or_ pancakes for dinner."

Well that settled that. The only thing that can overcome his older brother instincts is a direct order from his mom. "Of course! I wasn't gonna let them have breakfast for dinner, haha..."

"Uhuh... I'm sure. So how was the little trip with your friends?"

What he wanted to say was; 'Mom Haru is a cat, and the entire shrine visit was a complete waste of time, because we had went there in hopes of changing him back to normal, but it failed, so now we don't know what else we can do to help him, and I'm sort of freaking out considering the possibility that maybe Haru will be stuck this way forever.' But instead he said, "...Yeah..! It was great mom."

"Lovely, glad you had a great time. It's a shame Haruka was too sick still to go with you."

Seeing an opportunity to escape the conversation, he went for it. "Ah! Yeah, speaking of Haru, I was going to head over to check on him after I dropped my stuff off."

"Perfect. I'll come with you, I have some leftover hot pot I wanted to give him." She seemed delighted at having come up with the Idea. Haruka was practically her fourth child, and honestly, Makoto was surprised she hadn't pushed the visiting issue sooner.

Making her way over to the kitchen, the twins trailed after Makoto as he tried to stop his mom.

"No! No! It's o-okay, I can give it to him. I'm sure you have a lot of packing to get done anyways," he said while reaching to try and take the tupperware container from her hands.

Swiftly moving the container out of Makoto's reach, she gave him the _mom look_. "Is everything alright Makoto?" Tone of voice suggesting she knew something what was up, but being nice enough not to push further.

He hesitated a second before responding, considering the idea of telling his mom the truth, that no, everything was definitely not alright in the slightest. But the fear of his mom most likely not believing him was enough to dissuade the idea. "Of course everything is fine. Why wouldn't it be?" His voice going a little too high pitched at the end, so he cleared his throat before finishing. "You just worry too much."

His mom looked him up and down once, seeming to come to an internal decision, before handing the food to him. "Well I guess you know who you get your personality from," she chuckled. "I promise not to worry, if _you_ promise not to worry so much about Haruka."

Panic seized Makoto's veins. What did she mean? Could she have found out about Haru's current condition? Did Nagisa tell her? Oh god how do I ev-

"It's just a flu after all, I'm sure he'll bounce right back in a few days. You know how stubborn he is," she continued.

Oh. Of course. She was just talking about Haru's _flu_. He really needed to get in control of his overactive imagination.

"I don't know if I could keep that promise mom," he honestly replied.

She laughed at that, lips curling up into a smile, "And I wouldn't expect you to, but it was worth a try." Turning back around she reached into the fridge to grab a bottle of vita-juice. "Take this as well."

"Isn't that the juice dad buys that you said tasted like sad pineapples and the tears of carrots?" Ren pipes up.

She shot her son an exhausted look, "Your father insists on buying it because it's on sale. We have five more in the closet."

Before his mom could unload more food supplies onto him, Makoto made his exit, "I'm just gonna go get changed and then head over to Haru's. I'll be back by dinner."

"Alright, tell Haruka I said hello and that I hope he feels better."

"And ask him if he wants to play Mario Cart later!" Ran exclaimed.

"He's sick dumby, weren't you just listening?" Ren told his sister in a condescending tone.

"I was listening! I meant later as in.... later when he's feeling better!"

"Now you two..." His mother started, but Makoto left the room before hearing the rest. Putting the juice and leftovers onto the counter, he quickly made his way upstairs to drop off his stuff and change into clean clothes. He would grab the food and his laptop on the way out.

It was somewhat amazing how his mom could pick up on his worry that easily. But ... to be fair, he was usually worried about something or other, so the chances of him being worried at any given time are pretty high. And let's just say his worry levels have been at an all time high the past couple days.

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Makoto would be gone for maybe 20 minutes max, but that was 20 minutes too long in Haruka's mind. Without human hands he was unable to turn on the bathtub, cook mackerel, or even open a door, needless to say... he had nothing to do while he waited.

Positioning himself halfway up the steps he got comfortable in his spot that gave him a vantage point of the entire entryway. Looking between the rails he intently watched the door for any sign of movement. He had spent so much time deep in thought the entire day that his mind had numbed out to a blissful quiet. Too tired to even worry at this point, he felt his eyelids starting to droop.

It felt like he had only just closed his eyes when his ears picked up the sound of the door jiggling. Haruka quickly padded down the stairs and half hide himself behind the coat rack.

It was only when he stopped to think about it that he questioned exactly _why_ he had hide himself. He knew it was Makoto. It was Makoto right? I mean, who else could it possibly be, his mind countered. But even if he was sure he couldn't bring himself to move from his safe position.

Not two seconds later the small worry in the back of his mind was extinguished as Makoto shouldered open the door, as his hands were preoccupied at the time with holding what looked to be tupperware containers.

Makoto caught sight of Haruka almost immediately, which kind of irked him because that meant his hiding place wasn't as hidden as he had thought.

Sitting up straight from his crouched down position, Makoto greeted him with a chipper attitude, "Good news Haru, mom and dad are going to be out of the house for a few days to check on grandpa... which I guess is bad news since he sprained his back... but! This means I can sneak you into the house. Mom won't be around to so you can't bother her allergies." A frown overtook Makoto's features. "Okay, that sounded weird to say, so let's just move on."

Makoto set down the containers while he took his shoes and jacket off, leaving Haruka close enough to sniff out what was inside said containers. Beef. Onion. Black pepper. Potato. Leek. Thyme. Most likely Tachibana-san's beef hot pot. Unfortunately the only part that sounded appetizing to Haruka was the beef, the onion's strong scent making his nose twitch in an uncomfortable way.

Before he could stop himself he let out a small sneeze, head shaking in the process to try and dispel the smell stuck in his nostrils. But it didn't work, and he sneezed a few more times before his nose mercifully gave him a break.

Haruka heard a small coo sound from above, making him lookup to see Makoto staring down at him with a look of adoration on his face.

To cover up the embarrassment he was feeling he sent an icy glare up at the brunet. The annoyance of being stuck in a tiny cat body once again resurfacing.

Realizing his error, Makoto's face started to turn red and he stuttered out an excuse about needing to put the leftovers in the fridge before they went bad.

Once Makoto was done with the _very important_ task of putting away the food, he proceeded to enter the living room and lay down on the floor, spreading out his limbs and staring up at the ceiling. He let out a long puff of air that reached his bangs, making the brown strands flutter upward before landing back onto his forehead. Haruka entered the room a couple seconds after him, sitting on top of the low table to look down at his moping friend.

"Where do we go from here Haru?" Makoto asked, the tone of his voice sounding just as lost as Haruka felt.

"We've tried the Internet, we tried books, we tried seeking a god for help... what else is there? I suppose we could go to a psychic of some sorts? But that would probably lead to another dead end. Maybe a scientist? But we don't really know any scientists, and is this really even science related? I don't know... I guess we could-"

And it went on like that for awhile as Makoto kept coming up with ideas and then shooting them down himself. Haruka was trying to pay attention, he really was, but hadn't slept much last night due to his late night adventure, and he had tried to sleep in the van but the constant rest stops made that difficult to do. So that's why at the current moment he was struggling to keep himself awake. Head continuously bobbing downward as he started to lose the fight with consciousness.

He was brought back into semi-awareness as he felt the wood beneath him vanish, letting out a mrrrp of complaint before settling against the solid warmth he was pressed to. He registered the uneven motion of going up steps, a light breathe tickling his ears, and the faint squeak of a door being pushed open further, but couldn't be bothered to opened his eyes. That is until the warmth suddenly left him, and was replaced with the cool but soft fabric of his blankets.

Blinking blearily, Haruka raised his head in the direction of the door, right in his assumption that Makoto had brought him to his bedroom to sleep. Brain still fuzzy in half consciousness he let out another annoyed mrrrp, this time more annoyed that his personal heat source was leaving.

It sounded like Makoto was saying he would be back after dinner, but he wasn't quite sure, it all registered strangely muffled in his mind, like the words were taking longer to process than normal. Haruka reasoned with himself that this was just because he was so tired, but some part of him didn't agree with that explanation, and as he drifted off to sleep once again he couldn't stop his thoughts from wandering to the shrine, and the words he had been unable to read no matter how hard he tried.

~ ~ ~

The first thing Haruka notices is that it's dark. The sun that had been previously peaking through the shutters was now replaced with the dim glow of the street lamp, which provided just enough light for his cat eyes to make use of.

The house was dead quiet except for the occasional creaking of the window caused by the wind. The silence was nothing new to him, having lived on his own for a few years now, but for some reason it unnerved him tonight. _Where was Makoto?_ He had definitely been here earlier.

Slipping out his bedroom door he made his way to the ground floor of the house, checking every room for signs of his friend to no luck. Racking his brain for an explanation, he vaguely remembered a half distorted farewell earlier today.

Going to the front door to head over to the Tachibana's house he was disappointed to see that Makoto hadn't left it cracked open for him. Which was in Haruka's opinion, rude, since Makoto knew he couldn't open doors in this form.

Trying for a window instead, he tried the one right above the kitchen counter, pushing upward against the glass to no avail, as the window remained firmly shut. Annoyed at being trapped in his own home Haruka walked along the counter and took a seat in the sink. The faucet was loose and would let out a drop of water every 30 seconds or so, producing for him a pitiful amount of water, but as they say; beggars can't be choosers.

Now there was nothing else to do besides sulk until Makoto came back to let him out.

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

After dinner Makoto helped to clean the dishes and volunteered to take his parents luggage to the car for them. They had been hesitant but decided on leaving today, and arriving at grandpa's house later that night, since that way they could get straight to business tomorrow morning.

His siblings and him waved their parents off as they hopped into the car, yelling a few last minute reminders about school and how they would call everyday to make sure everything was alright.

Once out of sight Makoto guided his siblings back inside the house and instructed them to start on their homework. A few whines of complaint were given, but he didn't have to push hard to get them to comply.

Except that compliance ended when he tried to leave to go to Haru's house.

"But you were just over there?" Ren questioned.

"Yeah, you were just over there," Ran parroted. "Is Haru really that sick? Is that why you are checking on him again? Does he need our help too? Is he gonna die!?" Her voice raising with every exclamation.

Trying to shush his sister Makoto placated her, "No! No! Of course not... Haru is fine, don't worry, he will be back over here playing Super Smash Bros with us before you know it."

"Yay! I can't wait! No offense Onii-chan but that game is more fun when Haru plays."

He should feel hurt, but he really couldn't take offense at that. Every game is more fun when Haru is there. It's meaningless without him.

Resigned to his fate of being stuck at his own house till the twins fell asleep, Makoto tried to keep himself busy by straightening up the kitchen and researching alien abductee stories to see if human transformation was a common occurrence.

It was not.

It was maybe a quarter past eight when the twins started to nod off, and it wasn't until practically nine that they fully fell asleep. Wrapped up in their warm blankets, stuffed animals squeezed into bed with them, and the ones that couldn't fit littered the floor.

Sighing in relief that he could finally sneak back to Haru's house, his only hope was that Haru would still be sleeping, unaware of how much time had passed.

Of course that had been a long shot. But he hadn't expected to find Haru waiting in the sink of all places.

As soon as he approached the counter Haru immediately started licking the faucet opening. Pink tongue managing to pull in the few droplets that were still in the pipe.

Turning the faucet on, Makoto watched as Haru stuck his head under the running water, then moves to get more of his body into the stream, his fur quickly becoming slick and waterlogged.

"My parents are gone now, so I can bring you over with no worries... well relatively little worries. But anyways, we should finish up here so we can head back," Makoto said while reaching over to turn the faucet off, but he quickly retracted his hand as an outstretched claw tried to take a swipe at him.

With an offended expression he responded, "Haru no!"

The annoyed glare Makoto was receiving gave him the impression that Haru was going to be stubborn about this... great...

"I'll fill up the bathtub at my place for you."

He really hadn't wanted to resort to this sort of bribery, but half the time it was the only thing that worked with Haru. And once again it was proven to be a valuable trick as Haru stepped out of the sink and dripped water onto the counter as he took a seat.

Turning the faucet off no problem now, Makoto let out a sigh, "See? That wasn't so hard, now was it?"

Haru shook out his body in response to that sarcastic comment, water droplets flying everywhere.

Makoto wanted to protest at this childish action, but once he opened his eyes he wanted to laugh more than anything as Haru's soaked down fur was now sticking up at odd angles, making him look more like a hedgehog than a cat.

"Pfft well, I guess lets get going."

Quietly sneaking back inside his house, Makoto made sure to be as silent as possible when closing the door and proceeding to go up to the bathroom.

Filling the tub as promised, Makoto left Haru to do his own thing while he got ready for bed. He had school tomorrow after all and needed to go to sleep at a decent hour.

Soon settling into bed and turning off the bedside lamp Makoto got comfy under the covers. Feeling some of the tension leave his shoulders at the prospect of a good night's sleep. He could already feel his eyelids start to shut, and his thought processes slow down. The only thing going through his bogged down mind right now is the age old question of whether lizards are just snakes with legs or if snakes are just lizards without legs.

He had just started to fully drift off when his ears picked up the pitter-patter of paws against the wood flooring, followed by the sound of Haru shaking out his fur once more. So he wasn't surprised when he felt the bed dip in a little bit as a weight plopped itself down near his knees. He could feel the heat, and dampness, reaching him through the blanket, but he couldn't find it in himself to care, just murmuring a quiet 'good night ' before letting the nothingness of sleep take over.

~ ~ ~

Makoto woke up with a stiff feeling in his side, as if he had slept in this position too long. He was just going to move and stretch out when he felt a small movement next to him. Peeking under the covers he found Haru curled up against the side of his chest. _So that's why it felt like he hadn't moved in awhile_. Somehow in his sleep, his body made the unconscious decision not to disturb the small cat sized Haru next to him. Even though he wasn't sure when Haru had even slipped under the covers during the night.

The silence of the morning was quickly disturbed though as Ren burst into the room, "Onii-chan you promised pancakes!"

Makoto bolted upright at the loud sound of the door banging against the wall, "Ren!"

"Sorry.... but you did promise. So get up sleepyhead-" Ren had just started tugging at the blanket when he abruptly stopped his efforts.

Makoto followed his line of sight to Haru who was groggily glaring at whoever had destroyed his warm blanket cave.

Calling out to his twin, Ran soon appeared in the doorway, one pigtail already tied but the other side a mess as she was currently trying to tie it while running.

"What is it? What is it?!"

"Onii-chan brought home a cat!"

"No way! Lemme see," Ran jumped onto the bed to get a closer look. Her eyes sparkled as she let out a squeal of delight, snatching up Haru in her arms before he had a chance to react.

Being held around the torso Haru half dangled in the air, back legs kicking out in protest. The shocked expression on his cat face was almost comical, but Makoto knew he probably shouldn't laugh right now unless he wanted Haru to ignore him for the next few days out of spite.

"Ran put him down."

She didn't fully comply with the order, but the grip around Haru loosened, and he managed to slowly slip out her grasp as he squirmed between her arms.

"But he's so soft!" She pouted in response, reaching out to pet him again.

"Wait, let me feel," Ren said, not wanting to be left out.

Now under the attack of two sets of hands Haru sent Makoto a look that screamed; _help_.

Makoto knew he didn't have to worry about Haru lashing out in response, or anything rash a stray cat would do, he had always been good to the twins, treating them as if they were his own siblings. He had even helped Makoto baby-sit them a few times, even though he could have been doing anything else besides being stuck in a house with two rowdy, loud children. But without fail, Haru was there, and it warmed his heart that his friend could be this close with his family, he wanted Haru to feel at home with them, he wanted Haru to feel at home with _him_ , because Makoto felt that maybe, in some way, he could make up for all the days Haru had to spend alone in that big empty house of his.

Maybe the lack of people in Haru's life is the reason he puts up with the twins, but he could tell at this moment he was struggling to not get annoyed. Haru loved the twins, but every person had their limits.

"Alright that's enough you two, you don't want to bother him do you?"

"What's his name?"

"Huh?"

"What's his name?" Ren repeated.

"Uhh...." Makoto hadn't really thought of a cover story when bringing Haru over. He had kinda hoped the twins wouldn't see him. Which now that he thinks about.... this had been a horribly thought out plan. _"Thought out" aka meaning, no thought at all was put into it._

"We should name him Fluffy," Ran suggested.

"Ew no way," Ren stuck out his tongue in distaste. "Why not an actual guy's name like Oliver? Or Max?"

"I still think Fluffy is better."

"He isn't even _that_ fluffy."

"Well fine," She paused a second to think about alternatives to her original idea, eyes narrowing in intense concentration. "How about Kitty then? Oh! I think he likes it. Right Kitty?" Ran used her hand to gently bob Haru's head up and down.

Haru's eyes looked vacant, most likely blocking this all from his memory as it occurred.

"Now Ran, you can't just decide what to name him on your own," Makoto tried to reason. Hopefully sparing Haru from such a humiliating name.

"Does mom know you brought a cat into the house?" Ran asked with eyes a little _too_ wide and a little _too_ innocent.

"Kitty it is! Ha ha..."

She smiled wide in response to her victory. Oh she knew exactly what she was doing... Makoto was sure of it.

Ren looked a little put out that he hadn't thought of the blackmail route first.

"Okay you two, time to get ready for school and eat breakfast," Makoto said while ushering the twins out of his bedroom, trying to give Haru some space.

"But what about Kitty?"

"Kitty will still be here when you get back from school."

"I think Ren meant what is Kitty going to eat for breakfast?"

"I'm sure we'll find something for him," Makoto reassured, steering his siblings towards the bathroom. "Now brush your teeth and come down for breakfast in 20."

Returning to his bedroom, Makoto went to grab his school uniform and bag, which he stuffed his folders and textbooks back into. "Sorry about that Haru, you know how they can be," he apologized with a shrug, Haru had practically become desensitized to the twin's antics over the years, but Makoto still felt like he needed to apologize for what had just happened. "They adore small animals, and have been bugging our parents for a pet for years now, but we can't have any in the house due to mom's allergies ya know."

Pulling his nightshirt over his head, he began to change, he promised the twins pancakes for breakfast and he was a man of his word after all. Or was it waffles for breakfast..... Now that he thought about it. He wasn't sure anymore.

Pausing as he threw on his white school shirt, he became aware of Haru still staring at him from the bed. Suddenly feeling self-conscious for no reason Makoto turned around to face the closet. "Um, Haru, I'm trying to change here."

Peeking over his shoulder, it appeared that Haru didn't care in the slightest, as he only tilted his furry head in confusion. And his reaction made sense, they had changed hundreds of times before in the locker room right next to each other, Makoto was being the weird one here, making a big deal out of it. Maybe it was just the fact that he was the only one changing this time...

_Okay just don't think about it Makoto, your being paranoid_. He told himself, before finishing changing at record speed.

Swinging his bag over his shoulder Makoto made for the door. "Alright let's make those waffles! Er... pancakes? I'm still not sure," he whispered the last part to himself.

Breakfast was uneventful for the most part, Makoto ended up making both waffles and pancakes, just to make sure everyone was happy, Ren tried feeding Haru part of his waffle but just ended up getting syrup on his whiskers, and after she finished her food Ran tried to get Haru to play with one of her ribbons to no avail.

Having to leave a little earlier than usual to drop off the twins at the bus stop, Makoto quickly cleaned the dishes and shepherded everyone to the doorway.

To his surprise, Haru followed them outside as well. "Oh? What are you doing Har- I mean, Kitty? Wouldn't you be safer inside?" Makoto last minute changed to his "animal talk" voice, which was only a step up from his "baby talk" voice.

The murderous look he received from Haru was expected honestly.

But before Makoto could argue further, Haru had turned and started making his way up the steps towards his home.

"Aw where is Kitty going?" Ran whined.

"He'll come back right?" Ren genuinely questioned, a note of worry in his voice.

"Of course."

Makoto didn't even have to hesitate before answering the question, this was Haru after all, the same boy who had grown up side by side with him, gone to all the same schools as him, and had been a constant presence in his life as far back as his memories would allow. Haru would never leave him.

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

From the second the Tachibana's had put on their shoes to the moment he ran out the door the only thing on Haruka's mind was; _don't get locked into a house again_. Memories of yesterday playing in his mind. Without water to calm his nerves the dripping sink had been the only source of distraction available, and that's saying something. He hadn't liked the feeling of being unable to leave. It was annoying, it was suffocating.

Taking a deep breath of the summer air, he calmed himself by looking up at the clear blue sky, letting himself fall into the vast expanse above to join the few seagulls that were only dark silhouettes in the distance. It wasn't the ocean, or a pool, but it had a similar endless depth to it that made him feel so small but connected at the same time.

He was brought back to earth as he approached his back porch and saw that he had a visitor. Well _he_ didn't have a visitor, his human self did. And this visitor was here for the sole purpose of food no doubt.

As Haruka walked along the pebble path that cut through his backyard, he noted that the grass had turned an unhealthy dull green at some point and made a mental reminder to set out his sprinkler when he turned back to normal. Though he could have sworn it rained not too long ago... His gardening musings coming to a halt as a white head of fur turned towards him, bringing him back to the current situation.

"Oh! It's you again?" Snowfall eyed him questionably.

"And it's you again..."

Turning back towards the door, she sighed in defeat. "I think we're out of luck today, he doesn't seem to be home... it's weird 'cuz the tall warm one usually stops by around this time."

Not really having anything to respond with, Haruka kept quiet. It's not like he could explain the situation to this stranger without sounding crazy.

"Well, maybe he stayed at the tall one's den? They do that sometimes, visit each other's dens." Snowfall explained with a pensive look on her face. "I'll never understand two-legs honestly, aren't mates suppose to share the same den? Why have all this back and forth fuss?"

"Excuse me!?" Haruka nearly choked on his own saliva. _Did she just say what I think she said?!_

"You're...excused...?" She responded, obviously not understanding the human expression.

"I.. they-, I'm pretty sure they aren't mates." The word 'mates' rolling weirdly off his tongue. He never thought he would have to use that word when referring to himself.

"Okay, you just met the one two-leg _once_ , I think I know what I'm talking about more than you."

Again being unable to come up with a sane response, Haruka was left to silently open and close his jaw like an idiot.

Seeing that she won the argument, Snowfall jumped off the back porch to push him in the direction of the bushes. "Come on I'm hungry, let's go find some food."

Not feeling in the mood to argue further, Haruka let himself be pushed under the bushes and through a hole in the fence. Once on the other side, he took to following Snowfall as she led him around the maze of backyards and finally to the nearby park.

As they approached the edge of the pond that marked the center of the park, Haruka could feel his pelt itch to jump in, but a sudden ripple beneath the water paused his movements.

"Nice. They're close to shore today. Maybe a two-leg was feeding them," she said while crouching down next to the edge. Careful not to let her shadow fall over the waters surface and potentially scare their meal.

Another flash of movement breaks the surface of the water, he thinks it's a koi fish, going off of the general shape, but the muddy water must be making the typical orange lackluster since he couldn't Identify the color.

"Okay I snatch, you kill. Got it?"

Haruka's eyes widen at that. He hadn't known he would be taking part in the actual hunting. "Wait-"

"Now!"

A flurry of action happens instantaneously. Snowfall is a white blur as she swings her right claw into the water, sending up a huge spray of water as she flings a fish onto the land behind, narrowly missing Haruka as he jumps to the side. The fish is flopping all about, mouth gasping for water, and all he can do is stare. He's stuck, rooted to the ground as he stares at the fish fighting for life, he should feel pity, or maybe disgust, but instead he feels nothing, too numbly transfixed by the sight before him.

He kept staring even as Snowfall jumped in to make the kill herself. "Hey, what did I tell you..." She trailed off as she saw the look on his face, though he wasn't sure himself what face his body was making in response to the feelings that were churning in his stomach.

"Are you... are you okay?" She had taken a step closer, lowering her head so she could make direct eye contact with him, her green eyes searching his face for answers.

"I.. I've never killed a fish before," he slowly admits, even though it was somewhat a lie. He had fished before, but this was different, he didn't have a fishing rod, he didn't have bait, he didn't have a knife, all he had was his own teeth and this rising urge in the back of his mind that came with the numbness he had felt. He didn't want to put a name to the urge, the instinct, because that would solidify its existence. So Haruka did what he always does when something scares him, he buries it deep down where he won't have to face it.

Snowfall scrutinized him for a second before coming to a conclusion, "You're a kitty-pet aren't you? Or at least used to be one..."

Not quite knowing what the term meant Haruka nodded, he would take any excuse for his weird behaviors that he could get.

"You could have just said so, sheesh. You probably aren't used to hunting for yourself then. Just having those brown pellets poured out all the time. Here lemme show you how it's done."

They spent the next hour by the pond trying and failing to catch any more fish, which is probably his fault, considering his paw always came up empty. Most likely scaring the fish towards the center of the pond.

Giving up and deciding to eat the fish they had caught earlier, they now laid in the grass overlooking the pond and the surrounding park.

Snowfall stretched out in the long grass, white paws reaching out as far as they could go, before she curled up under the midday sunlight for a nap.

Haruka couldn't sleep though. Too many things running through his mind to even feel a hint of drowsiness.

Seeming to sense his tension, Snowfall looked at him upside down as she laid on her back. "What's wrong? Are you still upset that you couldn't catch anything? You'll get better with practice I promise."

With so many things bothering him he wasn't sure how to answer, so he just asked the first question that came to mind, "Why did you say those humans were mates?"

Wow. He wasn't sure where that question had come from. That wasn't even the most pressing issue right now, but I guess his subconscious had other priorities.

She blinked owlishly at him for a second, which he realized was probably because he had said human instead of two-leg, but she seemed to have caught on as the confusion cleared from her pale green eyes. "Because they are? I don't know. You can just tell these things ya know? Their scents are always mixed together, they share their prey, they come and go together, and okay this one time I saw them groom each other, if that doesn't scream relationship I don't know what does."

_Grooming each other?_ She wouldn't happen to be talking about that time Ran's gum had accidentally gotten into Makoto's hair right? They had to spend a whole hour trying to get it out.

Her argument was actually kind of funny, it was just basic friend things that Makoto and him do, and I mean, the scent thing is weird but of course that happens when you spend hours over the other person's house. He really couldn't expect a cat to understand how human relationships work. So...why did Haruka care about her opinion of them in the first place...?

"But seriously. What's bothering you? Because that can't be it," she needled further, turning over onto her belly to face him properly.

".... nothing."

"Hmmm."

The sound of her hmm making Haruka suspect that she didn't fully believe that.

"Follow me," she said while suddenly springing to her feet, bouncing over to Haruka to nudge him to his feet.

Not liking the physical contact, he complied with her orders to get her to stop sooner, "Where are we going now?"

As she took off into a run she called over he shoulder, "You'll see."

This probably wasn't a good idea, but he followed none the less. She had been nice to him so far, and it would be rude to just leave, his grandma taught him better than that.

~ ~ ~

After running for what felt like forever they made it to their destination, or what he assumed was the destination.

They had been heading to the coast, he could tell that much as they sloped downhill and the smell of saltwater increased, as did the number of seagulls.

In front of them laid a giant wall made of coastal rocks, which sat right next to the seaside road that was as familiar to him as his home. He had seen these rocks before in his evening runs, but never did more than look since it would be too dangerous to climb and not worth the effort. But as Snowfall continued approaching them Haruka started praying that she wasn't expecting them to climb the jagged stones.

His prayers were answered for once as she pointed towards a crack in between two of the massive rocks. It looked like a tight fit, but if the fact he heard was true... if his cat head can fit, then the rest of his body will follow.

As he followed Snowfall through the narrow crevice he started to feel a little claustrophobic, the crack was went on longer than he originally thought, and his whiskers dragged along the walls, creating an unpleasant sensation. Haruka was just about to voice his concerns to Snowfall when they reached a wider portion. The rocks still surrounded them, but he was able to breathe better, and could actually look up at the looming rocks around him, creating a canyon sort of effect, with the pale sky peeking between the cracks above. But when he had stopped to gaze upward, Snowfall had continued on, taking a trail to the left that was covered in sand, and as he jogged to catch up he heard the crashing of ocean waves get louder. The sound a welcome embrace to his water deprived body. _A whole morning counts as water deprived._

The second they stepped out from behind the safety of the rock formation a blast of wind buffeted Haruka, dragging with it hundreds of scents that he had never smelled before in his life. Eyes squinting against the combination of assaulting wind and sunlight, he didn't see the approach of the other cats.

"Snowfall. Whose this?" An angry voice hissed.

"Why did you bring a stranger here?" Another voice whispered.

"It's okay you guys, he's just an ex-kitty-pet I'm helping out, he's harmless," Snowfall defended, stepping in front of Haruka, whose vision had just begun to clear up.

Coming into focus was two new cats; a large dark brown tabby, probably the owner of the angry voice if the raised fur was any indication, and a smaller calico who looked more timid.

Several feet behind them were a bunch more cats, maybe a dozen, of varying color pattern and size.

Looking beyond the other cats, the scenery was beautiful. The rocky foundation giving way to a sparse beach with spots of tall grass waving in the wind, this beach gave way to more rock, but this time smooth as it's been worn away by the tide, big puddles of sea water were trapped in the rock as the low tide went out. These little pockets of sea life providing the perfect hunting spots for ocean creatures that hadn't escaped with the tide. To the right and left he saw that the rocky wall he had passed through curved around the entire beach and only broke down once it reached the sea, creating a perfect alcove safe from intruders.

Attention coming back to the matter at hand, Haruka was just in time to jump back as the large tabby had suddenly lunged at him. His retreating steps were somewhat clumsy on the rough terrain and he wobbled a bit before catching himself.

The brown tabby snorted at his balancing attempt, "Yeah he's harmless alright. The guy can barely dodge properly."

At the tabby's somewhat insulting words, the rest of the cats dispersed, reassured that their territory wasn't in danger.

A few of the cats came up to Haruka to introduce themselves... and sniff him, which he was a little uncomfortable with if he was being honest with himself, but that's just how cats do things. After the initial greetings they too headed off to do their own thing, leaving him, Snowfall, and a skinny, charcoal grey she-cat still standing at the entrance.

Following Snowfall and the grey she-cat, whose name was either Stonehallow or Stonemallow, he found himself walking along the shallows of the beach. Finding a patch of stone that had a large fissure in the middle, effectively trapping a pool of water and it's sea dwelling inhabitants.

"Stonemeadow is an expert at fishing, so I asked her if she could give us a demonstration and maybe a few tips!"

Stonemeadow. _Darn._ Well at least he had gotten the first part right. But Haruka couldn't help but wonder why Snowfall had dragged him all the way out here just for a fishing lesson? They had practiced for an hour with no luck.

"Well I wouldn't call myself an expert..." Stonemeadow said in a small voice, paws shuffling in embarrassment. Pale blue, almost grey, eyes looking away shyly.

"She's the best around, don't let her modesty fool you," Snowfall bumped her head against the other she-cats shoulder.

"T-thanks.. well I guess we should start by me giving an example, and then seeing where you're at in technique?"

Stonemeadow was a good teacher, Haruka had to admit that, and by the end of their lesson he had managed to snag a crab out of the rock pool. It got away after he flung it onto the stone, but it's the improvement that matters.

Haruka wasn't sure why this was so engaging for him, he tended to get bored easily when something didn't capture his full attention, and yet he hadn't felt bored this entire day. And that includes the long minutes he had spent simply staring intently into the small tide pool.

Thanking Stonemeadow for her advice they headed off to join some other cats in a game of what Snowfall called "moss-ball". The rules were essentially like "keep-away", and the game would end when the person they had to keep the moss away from got their paws on it. Four of the participants in this game were kittens, but Haruka went along with it anyways, as Snowfall and two other adults were playing as well.

It didn't take long for the game to degrade into a tussle for the moss ball between the four kittens, and Haruka used that as his cue to escape.

But Snowfall wasn't far behind, and kept pushing him to join the others in the various activities they had going, the most popular of which being an afternoon snooze in the shadow of the tall grass.

Settling down in a location that allowed for them to see the ocean, Snowfall let out a long sigh, "I'll never get tired of this view, this smell, this place. I sometimes wish I can just stay in moments like this forever..." She paused, waiting for him to comment as well, but seeing that he wasn't going to.. "You don't talk too much do you?"

He attempted shrugging as best he could in this form, even though the meaning of the action would be lost on her. "...Only when I have something to say."

He gazed out towards the ocean, the normal blue depths a somewhat cloudy grey today, looking up he didn't spot any storm clouds, but he supposed the sky was more grey than earlier, so maybe a storm was going to roll in later...

Snowfall remained silent after that, and he began to wonder if she had fallen asleep, but glancing to the side he could see her staring at the waves just as intently as he had been.

"I know..." she hesitantly trailed off, voice unsure and quiet. "I know deep down your probably feeling scared right now, because your used to the kitty-pet life but... being a feral cat isn't so bad either. You probably think we're just scavengers, or worse, beggars, but we're so much more than that. We have freedoms that cats trapped in two-leg dens don't have, can't ever have. We have the freedom to do as we please, when we please. If I wanted to I could sit on this beach and sleep for hours. And I don't think having a scratchy bed and some food, that shouldn't even be called food, is worth the trade off."

Something stirred within Haruka in reaction to her words. There was an excitement building up inside that he couldn't control nor explain. His paws itched to swim, they'd been doing that all day, but the urge has increased tenfold.

Snowfall looked up at him with a conviction in her eyes that wasn't there before. "I think being free isn't worth trading for anything, wouldn't you agree?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Next chapter I have planned some fluff and cat antics before we get back to the main plot ;) so feel free to hmu with ideas or stories about what your own cat(s) get up to.  
> \- I figure I might as well link to my tumblr: [small-lizard](http://small-lizard.tumblr.com/)  
> \- Top Cat Names of 2016: [Article Link](http://iheartcats.com/top-10-cat-names-of-2016/). Oliver and Max are at the top of the list. (And haha Loki is on the list.... @myowncat sorry Loki for giving you such a basic name)  
> \- So cats are NOT color blind, but they see significantly less color than we do, and that's what I was trying to get at towards the end of this chapter. Here is a link that has a neat picture comparing human to cat vision; [Cat-Vision](http://brierpatchcats.blogspot.se/2012/10/cat-vision.html?m=1)


	7. Lies Can't Last Fur-ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagisa needs to stop with the puns. Little kids shouldn't be let near animals. Someone just give Haru a vacation, he needs one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to start off by saying thanks everyone for 100+ kudos and 2,000+ hits!!! WOW!!! When I started writing this I had no idea what kind of response I would get. So I'm pretty ecstatic right now :D

Leaving Haru alone all day made Makoto nervous, but he tried to assure himself that just because Haru was in a cat's body didn't mean he had a cat's brain now. Haru could take care of himself just fine. He wouldn't go chasing mice into the middle of the street or anything.

But no matter what he told himself, he just couldn't pay attention. All his thoughts being pulled back to Haru, like being caught by the tide and unable to change direction.

Makoto fiddled with the writing supplies on his desk, capping and then uncapping a pen several times. Eventually forcing himself to stop the nervous action by starting to doodle in the margins of his notebook instead. This way his hands were kept busy, and could appear diligent to the teacher lecturing up front.

Involuntarily, his eyes kept on wandering from the paper back to the empty desk beside him.

He should at least attempt to listen, if only to catch Haru up once he came back. But that was easier said than done, and within a few minutes he went back to doodling in his notebook. _The cat actually looked like a cat this time,_ so he would say he was improving.

By the time lunch had arrived, Makoto was pretty sure the only thing he had learnt was that "colonel" is actually pronounced like kernel, even though there is no "r" in the word, and that the English language is hell.

Sitting down heavily onto the concrete roof, Makoto couldn't wait to start his lunch and think about nothing but food for the next 5 minutes.

Rei and Nagisa joined him soon after, and he barely paid attention to what they were saying, until Nagisa suddenly threw his backpack into the center of their loose circle and started violently rummaging through its contents. The sudden action causing Makoto to jump and almost spill his rice.

"Okay, but, check out what I managed to get," Nagisa said while holding up a suspicious bag of sad looking green leaves, which were curled and dry.

"What is it exactly?" Rei questioned, adjusting his glasses as if that action would help him identify the plant.

Nagisa's eyes sparkled as he proclaimed, "Catnip! I found this leftover from my sister's old cat, and I wanted to see if I could get Haru-chan to try some."

"Nagisa! No!" Makoto scolded.

"Aww come on, it isn't bad for him, just think of it as medicinal marijuana."

"That... doesn't make it any better," Makoto sighed into his hands.

"I think it would be fun to try," Nagisa pouted.

"Not all cats react to catnip actually. There is a good number of them that simply have no reaction at all. It's gene related, similar to how some people find the taste of cilantro to be disgusting due to a difference in their taste bud genes, specially olfactory receptor gene OR6A2-"

Not letting Rei finish his sentence Nagisa jumped in to cut him off, "Alright, alright, I give up. I won't give him the catnip, geez. Just pleaseee stop."

"I was just trying to make you aware that you might not receive the outcome you hope for. Plus it's morally questionable in the first place..."

Disappointed, Nagisa shoved the catnip back into his backpack, crumpling several papers in the process.

Makoto was glad that Nagisa is able to keep the whole situation lighthearted, but the anxiety building in his stomach wouldn't allow him to do that. Too many unsolved problems floating to the forefront of him mind prevented anything other than worry to grow.

Talking about his problems to Haru had always been the best outlet for stress, since even when he couldn't put his feelings into words Haru knew what he meant, but seeing as Haru was the main issue here, he would have to make do with Rei and Nagisa.

"On a more important note, you guys have to help me come up with a new excuse for why Haru can't come to classes. The school, and especially my mom, are going to start questioning it all soon. And I really don't see any other option but to wait and hope whatever changed Haru into a cat wears off. Which can take who knows how long! But like I said, I don't know what else we can do. So we need a new excuse and-"

"Mako-chan you're starting to repeat yourself."

"O-oh, sorry."

Nagisa waved away his apology. "Don't you worry! I will come up with a new excuse. One time I even got out of taking a test, and the teacher never caught on."

"Nagisa-kun you forgot to study for the test so you said your grandmother was ill and in the hospital."

"And it worked, didn't it?" Nagisa said with a shrug, unashamed at his actions.

"You squeezed lemon juice into your eyes to force out tears!" Rei raised his voice at the absurdity of it all.

Crossing his arms, with a shake of his head, Nagisa stated rather seriously, "You have to be committed to the lie or it will never work."

Now Makoto was more worried than before.

Eyes catching the sudden red in the doorway Makoto saw Kou jogging over to the group, ponytail swinging in the wind.

Once she was within speaking range she spoke up, "No luck I'm assuming?"

"Nadda."

"Nope."

"How about you Kou?" Makoto asked, not expecting any luck on her end either.

"Nothing, nothing, and more nothing," She said with a sigh, seating herself down next to Rei. "We are falling soooo behind on my training regime it's not even funny."

"I don't think that is the main concern here..." Rei said, a little hesitantly.

"Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't be worrying Haruka-senpai's times," she redirected her gaze towards the three boys. "I don't want to see any slacking from you all just because our star swimmer is out of commission."

"I thought I was our star swimmer?!" Nagisa dramatically draped himself over Rei's lap to stare up at Kou, blinking rapidly with big eyes.

Kou poked him on the forehead, grin turning sly, "If you say so, but I expect your times to match that claim. I want Olympic level swimming from you starting tomorrow."

"Uhhh, did I say 'me'? I meant Rei-chan here," Nagisa pointed his finger up at the boy above him. "He's the real star."

"Nagisa-kun don't go pushing your half-formulated boasts onto me."

The blond just groaned in response, rolling off Rei's lap and onto the cement of the roof. Laying on his stomach, nose to the ground. Honestly that was Makoto's internal emotion at the moment summed up in one image.

Just when he thought Nagisa was starting to be worryingly, uncharacteristically quiet, he sprung up again with a bounce.

"Wait you guys! I just had the most important thought!"

Hesitant to ask, but also eager to ask, Makoto simply stared in indecision.

"Oh come on! Ask me what it is!" Nagisa whined.

Rei and Kou exchanged looks before Rei bravely asked, "And what pray tell is this thought?"

Okay, okay, so you know how Haru-chan is a cat now?" He paused, awaiting a response."

"....Yes...?"

"Well, now he's Haruka.... _Nya_ nase"

At this Nagisa burst out laughing at his own pun, slapping the ground next to him and then going to hold his own sides as it started to hurt from laughter.

His audience looked somewhat less amused than him.

Makoto gave a small laugh at the joke, as it was funny, but it wasn't what he had hoped for.

Rei's face held a more deadpan expression, being at the receiving end of one too many puns from Nagisa.

Kou on the other hand vocally complained, "Nagisa! I thought you had something important to say!"

Trying to catch his breath Nagisa breathed out, "Excuse you. That was important."

As Nagisa then spent the next 15 minutes trying to name every cat pun in existence, Makoto turned to his phone to check if he had gotten any messages.

There were a few from Rin asking for updates, but besides that, nothing. He didn't know what he expected honestly. It's not like Haru could text using his paws, and even before this he rarely texted when he had hands with fingers.

When the bell signaling the end of lunch rang he slipped the phone back into his pant pocket, also packing up his bento and books.

_If only we could save Haru through cat puns. Then we would be good to go..._

~ ~ ~

Sometime during the last class of the day, Makoto got a note from the office asking him to stop by after school. Automatically worried that the school had already caught onto their lie and was demanding to know why Haru was skipping class.

His nerves were jumping by the time class was over, and he quickly made his way to the bottom floor where the teacher's office was.

Peaking in, he saw Amakata-san at her usual desk, leafing through an essay as she marked it with red pen.

_I sure hope that one isn't mine_

Looking up as he approached the desk Amakata gestured to the unoccupied chair across from her.

"Please, please, have a seat."

Once he was settled she got right down to business, "So I know Nanase-kun has missed a few days due to the flu," _oh god this isn't good, she's going to start questioning me now, oh god-_ "and I wanted you to give these assignments to him so he won't come back to too much work. I figured with how close you two are this would be easiest."

Panic attack avoided, Makoto's mind blanked as he mutely took the stack of papers offered to him, just staring down at the English language worksheet. That went better than he could have hoped. Didn't even have to squirt lemons into his eyes.

Bowing his head in thanks, Makoto went to stand up, not wanting to give her a chance to question him.

"Oh, and Tachibana-kun, before you leave I wanted to talk to you about university."

"Don't worry Amakata-san I've already narrowed it down to a few I really like, and will begin studying for the entrance exams as soon as this swimming season is over. But today I am kind of in a hurry, so maybe we can talk about it another day?"

"Hmhm that's fine. You're a hard worker Tachibana-kun, I don't see you having much trouble with whichever path you choose..."

"T-thank you, you're too kind," Makoto said while scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

He would have gotten up to leave again, but something kept him in the chair, he felt that she had more to say. The air hung with a sort of hesitant tension, as if she were debating whether to say these next words or not.

"There.. was something else I was meaning to ask you. And by no means feel obligated to answer of course. But. Do you know what Nanase-kun plans to do after high school?"

_What does Haru want to do after high school?_

The question echoed around inside his brain for a few seconds, triggering memories of all the times they had avoided talking about the subject. Part of it was Makoto being too scared of what the answer would be. He knew this. Deep down he knew that Haru and him would have to go their separate ways eventually, but it had always seemed like a far off worry; it used to be that he had years to prepare himself, now he only has months, and eventually he will have just a few weeks before their fated farewells. And in all honesty, he had no idea what Haru wanted to do for the rest of his life. But... he was pretty sure Haru didn't either.

The silence went on for a tad too long and Amakata took that as a sign to switch gears. Knowing that teachers shouldn't be discussing other students like this anyways, but seeing as it was Haru and Makoto the situation was different.

"Ah, don't worry, never mind. I'll discuss it with Nanase-kun myself when he's better."

"Are... are you asking because he wrote 'free' as his answer for the career survey?"

He had seen what Haru wrote when passing his paper to the front of the classroom for collection. The vagueness had somewhat shocked Makoto but at the same time accepted that it was a Haru type answer. But piecing it together with all of Haru's other reactions to the subject... there was no denying it, he was serious about that answer.

Her eyes widened a bit, probably surprised that he knew.

"W-well somewhat, yes. But like I said don't worry about it, I shouldn't have asked in the first place, it's _my_ job to help the students."

Gripping his knees tight enough to make his knuckles turn white, Makoto's face had a somewhat pained expression as he said, "I'll talk to him about it, and if that's all, may I be excused?"

"Oh, yes, of course."

With that, Makoto slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed towards the door, stopping only when Amakata cleared her throat, offering a quote like usual.

"Before you head out, just keep this in mind from the famous American philosopher Henry David Thoreau; 'Not till we are lost, in other words, not till we have lost the world, do we begin to find ourselves, and realize where we are and the infinite extent of our relations.'"

Figuring it was just another one of her misplaced quotes, Makoto hardly paid it any mind as he nodded along.

~ ~ ~

Sliding open the front door to his house, Makoto wasn't greeted by an exited pair of twins like he thought he would be, instead it was weirdly quiet for this time of day.

Taking off his shoes before making his way to the living room, Makoto strained his ears for any sign of life, and it didn't take long before he heard a few muffled shouts come from the floorboards above. At this he started to make his way upstairs at a leisurely pace, figuring they were just arguing over the game console again, until a loud crash spurred him into a run.

Flinging the twin's bedroom door open he was met with a sight that put tornados to shame. Somehow Ran's dresser had been knocked over, her clothes flung across the floor in heaps, and glancing at the opposite side of the room he could see the closet's contents were in no better shape.

"Ran. Ren. What-"

But he was interrupted as Ran suddenly jumped up from her spot on the bedroom floor, half buried under all the shirts, she proudly held out her arms which held a very squirming and angry Haru, now wearing what looked to be one of Ran's doll dresses.

"Onii-chan! Look! We dressed up Kitty!"

"You what?!" Makoto yelled a tad too high pitched as he made eye contact with glowering blue eyes.

Managing to wiggle his way free, Haru jumped a safe distance away before glaring back at them.

"Haha...oh boy.. you guys are lucky Har- er, Kitty is so patient."

He glanced over to see Haru on his back trying to shimmy out of the dress to no avail, the bow at the top of the neckline getting caught in his ears. It was honestly kind of funny, but Makoto was sure Haru wouldn't appreciate him laughing right now.

"Aw he doesn't like it," Ran pouted at Haru ruining her impromptu fashion show.

"I told you he wouldn't like the dress! We should have went with my idea and dressed him up as a pirate," Ren proudly crossed his arms like he had won an argument.

With a sigh Makoto scolded, "No more dressing up Kitty, okay?"

He crouched down next to Haru in an attempt to help him out of the dress, which would have been easier if Haru wasn't moving so much.

Finally getting it off, Haru shook out his black fur and scurried out of the danger zone, jumping over a pile of pants in his way.

Looking around the mess of a room Makoto ordered, "You two better have this room cleaned up by dinner time."

"Ughhh." Both twins groaned in unison. Ren processed to flop down face first on his bed while Ran laid back and embraced the pile of clothes.

"Ah, come on you two, you can't just leave the room like this," Not receiving any response from his plea, Makoto knew what he had to say. "I guess I can help..."

"Yay! Thanks Onii-chan," Ran sat up and grabbed a few shirts.

"Don't you have swimming lessons soon though?" Ren asked as he propped his head up from the bed.

"Eh? No I don't, that's only on Mond-"

Wait, what day is today? If yesterday was Sunday, than that means today is... Monday. Oh. OH.

Quickly lifting Ran's dresser back into the upright position Makoto patted his sister on the head, "I leave the rest up to you."

"Heeey!" She whined as he ran out the door.

Going into the bathroom to grab his swimsuit, which was drying over the towel rack, he turned around to almost tripped over Haru who had appeared suddenly in the doorway.

"Wah! Haru what are you doing?"

Not even giving a meow in response, the cat slipped between Makoto's legs to start pawing at the bathtub.

"Hmm aahh, fine, since you put up with the twins back there, I guess you do deserve a bath."

Letting the water run while he collected the rest of the stuff he needed for the job, Makoto wondered if he could ask Coach if he could leave work early today. Although it was unlikely since the swim club still hadn't enough money to hire more swimming instructors.

"I'm sure Haru will be fine alone with the twins for a few more hours..." he muttered to himself.

But to be on the safe side...

Makoto poked his head back into the twins room. "Okay I'm heading out now. No more dressing up Kitty, okay? You wouldn't want him to get angry with you, would you?"

Both twins shook their heads.

"I thought the dress looked nice on him... but if Kitty really didn't like it then I won't do it again," Ran answered maturely.

Satisfied with that answer, Makoto made his way to shut off the bathtub faucet. Haru looked up at him, momentarily annoyed at this action, but quickly went back to staring into the water he was sitting in.

On reflex, Makoto went to pat the cat on the head, wet black fur sticking up everywhere. To his surprise, Haru didn't even flinch.

_It's amazing the calming effect water has on Haru. Maybe he should talk to Haru about graduation while he's in the tub..._ That would probably make the conversation more bearable on his part at least.

"I'll be back in a few hours. Sorry in advance if the twins try something like that again."

Haru blew a few bubbles in response.

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Falling asleep in the tub, Haruka was awoken as a pair of small hands lifted him out of the water. Blinking sleepily as a towel was wrapped around him, he could hear soft cooing noises coming from above.

Ran was pouting worriedly down at him, "You'll catch a cold sitting in that cold water Kitty."

_It must be a family trait to over worry._ Haruka thought to himself.

He tried to wiggle free as he was passed over to Ren.

"Hold Kitty while I drain the tub."

As they settled down, back in the now clean bedroom, Haruka was placed on the bed still swaddled in the towel as Ren and Ran got out their homework. Shimming out of the now damp bundle he had the violent urge to shake his fur out, and being unable to resist, he covered the twins in droplets, receiving whines in response.

For the next few minutes he warily watched them for any signs of another "dress-up" game, but they seemed content at the moment to just occasionally pet him. And try to get him to play with their pencils to no avail.

He has known Ren and Ran since they were born, heck he had even helped babysit them on multiple occasions, so he thought he was used to their loud rambunctious nature, but with his now delicate cat ears he found even their normal chatter too much to take.

Making to leave the room, Haruka jumped off the bed, but was quickly recaptured and placed in Ren's lap. Every time he made a move to leave he was grabbed around the torso and brought back.

Resigned to his fate, Haruka let out an annoyed huff and flopped over the side of Ren's leg.

"I think he's tired out."

Easily distracted from her homework, Ran looked over curiously, and her expression quickly turned to annoyance. "Awww no fair, why is he in your lap?!"

Somewhat leaning over, to block his sister's reach of Haruka, Ren stuck out his tongue.

Burying his head in the side of Ren's knee, he was fully prepared for a tug of war match to begin. He just hoped they wouldn't accidentally pull his tail off.

But much to his surprise, it never happened. Peeking up, he saw Ran going back to her homework. She still looked annoyed, but had that expression on her face that meant she was trying to be more 'adult-like'.

"We'll just have to take turns with Kitty. I get him in the next hour."

"What if he's more comfy with me?"

Ran sent a glare at her brother, eyes getting all squinty, which wasn't intimidating in the slightest, it just made her look like she was trying to read something far off in the distance.

Haruka loved these two as if they were his own siblings, but without Makoto here, and without any way to communicate, he expected it to be a long couple hours.

But due to his long escapade early that day with Snowfall, he felt that tired feeling settle into his limbs once again.

The silence of the room was only broken up by the scratching of pencil on paper and the off tune humming coming from Ran every couple of minutes.

Staring at his paper for a minute without writing, Ren slowly set down his pencil down and looked up at his sister. "Do you think Haru-chan will get better soon?"

Without looking up from her own paper Ran replied, "Of course he will, Haru-chan has some of mom's beef hot pot, she told me that'll cure anything."

"Hmm, I hope so. I don't like seeing Onii-chan worry so much."

At this, Ran does look up, somewhat confused, "He always worries? It's what he does."

"Yeah, I know, but this is different. He never forgets about coaching practice and this morning he almost poured the orange juice onto the pancakes."

A look of serious contemplation took over Ran's face as she thought about this. "It's a different type of worry because...because his love for Haru-chan is a different type as well."

Ren nodded in agreement, seeming to accept this answer as truth.

Haruka didn't know what the twins meant by this, and trying to figure it out would probably be a waste of time. Little kids tend to have hyperactive imaginations, and to be blunt, don't understand how the world actually works yet. To them love is a term to be thrown around carelessly, they love their parents, they love cake, they even say they love the wind. It would be pointless to read into what they were saying,

He had always been more modest with the use of the word, even from a young age. His grandmother had taught him that love was a special word, to be only used when describing something precious to oneself.

Makoto on the other hand had never been shy about saying how much he loved Haruka. But, Makoto loved a lot of people, and foods, and cats, so it almost discredited the word like his grandmother had warned.

Although... when looking into Makoto's green eyes and seeing the pure earnestness within, Haruka never once doubted the sincerity of the his words.

. . . .

Yes, he would count Makoto as something he loved.

~ ~ ~

The twins, having fallen asleep while doing their math homework, left Haruka as the only one awake to greet Makoto at the door when his shift ended.

Sitting on the foyer step, he silently watched as Makoto removed his shoes while babbling about something or other.

A smell slowly reached his nose and tickled Haruka's nostrils, it was sweet and airy, making him immediately want to sneeze it away.

Catching Kisumi's name amidst the paragraphs long recollection of the swimming lessons, he was able to immediately connect the strong scent to the pink haired annoyance.

Even in middle school he was never fond of Kisumi, with his high pitched voice and touchy personality. But he wasn't a bad guy per se, he just rubbed Haruka the wrong way... multiple times.

In a second, he was on his feet, stopping Makoto mid-sentence as Haruka wound his way between the other boy's legs. Deliberately brushing up against his pants to wipe away the scent of Kisumi. Cat fur getting all over the fabric in the process.

On autopilot, he titled his head to allow his scent glands more direct contact, making sure Makoto smelled like him and him alone.

The only thought going through his head at the moment was a strong and insistent _mine_.

"Erm... Haru? What are you doing?"

Snapping out of whatever haze he was in, Haruka jumped back, feeling his fur grow hot in embarrassment. _What the hell was I doing?!_

Obviously seeing the confused and jittery response, Makoto tried to brush it away, bless him. Quickly walking into the foyer as he headed towards the kitchen.

"Ah, never mind, never mind. Let's just get dinner started."

_Since its just you cooking, it's going to have to be something simple._

"Of course it's just going to be a simple rice and prepackaged stir fry mix haha, considering my parents don't want to come home to find the house burnt down."

_Good plan. But what about adding mackerel._

As if reading his thoughts, Makoto pulls a wrapped Mackerel container out of the freezer along with the stir fry. "My mom always keeps some stocked just in case you drop by... well more like, for _when_ you drop by."

He can't help but think that Auntie is surely a saint among saints.

Sitting up on the counter so he can watch the mackerel fry, Haruka hardly notices the look he is getting from Makoto, more preoccupied with the safety of his meal.

But after another few minutes the feeling of being stared at becomes too much and he looks up to make eye contact, prompting Makoto to say what's on his mind.

Nothing comes out at first, as Makoto shifts uncomfortably a few times and blinks rapidly as he breaks eye contact.

"Hey Haru...." he lets the sentence drift off, dying down into silence once more. Opening and closing his mouth a few times, he seems to debate what to say before hesitantly deciding. "..Amakata-san was asking about you today. I think we are getting close to the limit of how long you can be 'sick' for. Plus your parents will wonder why you aren't checking in right?"

Haruka leveled a look at him that read, _My parents will just think I forgot to charge my phone again. You know they don't check in that often. Now what is this really about Makoto?_

The mackerel continued to sizzle in the background. The popping sound echoing in his ears.

"Well, um, you being sick wasn't the only thing Amakata-san mentioned today... Haru. What do you plan on doing after graduation?"

Stiffening, Haruka moved his gaze to intently stare down at the frying pan. Usually giving Makoto a clear sign that he didn't want to talk about it was enough for the subject to be dropped.

There was another pop that came from the frying pan, this time louder than before.

Sounding a little disappointed Makoto let out a quiet, "Haru..."

Good he was going to drop it-

"You can't run from this decision forever you know? Life doesn't stop after school does."

Haruka shouldn't be surprised that the words uttered were similar to the ones that echoed in the back of his own mind, Makoto always had a way of knowing. But it was still jarring to hear these thoughts out loud. These thoughts he tried to avoid when sitting in his tub filled with water.

"I know it seems silly to bring this up when we have other things to worry about at the moment but, there's something I haven't told you-"

The blood began to pound faster in his ears. _I don't want to hear this. Change the subject like you always do, Makoto please._

"-I've already started looking into universities, there's this one in Tok-"

Haruka let out a hiss. Cutting off anything Makoto was about to say. His black fur rose along his spine in agitation. Even he couldn't understand why he had gotten worked up so easily, but now that it was done, he felt somewhat relieved to let out the pent up anger.

Glaring right at Makoto, he saw his green eyes widen in... shock? Surprise? Fear? The vibrant green he had come to know so well was faded, lacking its usual bright luster. For some reason this only upset him more. He knew it was a silly detail to get hung up on, but to him that green had been a sanctuary, away from the stress of the world, away from thinking about the future. Because with Makoto he never had to worry, he was Haruka's base, solid and never changing... or so he thought.

Next to them the grease let out one last loud pop, ashen smoke rising from the now burnt mackerel, charred edges black and inedible.

Neither of them paid it any mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally just cycle through scenes of fluff/angst/fluff/angst, sorry. The next few chapters will just be a build up of angst btw so be prepared for that. Gotta suffer a little before the happy ending!
> 
> Also my friend ([Rinner](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Rinner)) drew fanart! So I wanted to show that off :3c  
> (AO3 has such horrible picture formatting, sorry about that)  
> [](https://www.flickr.com/photos/154781725@N03/37988572544/in/dateposted-public/)


	8. Don't Stress Meowt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taking place right after Haru and Makoto's confrontation; The beginning of the angst roller coaster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey sorry for the long delay between chapters! But that teaser for the new free movie this October brought me back to life ~  
> (MH IN TOKYO FRICKK YEAHH)

Hiding under the bed might not have been Haruka's brightest plan, but it worked, and that's all that mattered at the moment. 

Laying limp on the hardwood floor, next to a forgotten pair of shoes and several boxes of old photo albums Auntie liked to make, he was forced to admit just how horrible this situation was... and how horrible he was feeling. 

Letting out a huff of air, as he rested his head on the cool floor, he watched as the dust bunnies scattered away. Making him question when was the last time the Tachibana's had cleaned under here. 

Hearing footsteps enter the room, Haruka turned his head to watch Makoto's feet pad past his hiding place and circle back around. 

Holding his breathe, he was reminded of when they used to be little and had played hide and seek, Haruka usually being the winner as Makoto couldn't handle hiding in anyplace dark for too long. But this wasn't hide and seek, and they weren't little anymore. 

"Haru," Makoto whispered. 

Thinking he had be found, Haruka stiffened, backing himself further behind the box full of old photo albums. But peeking out he could tell that wasn't the case. Makoto still wasn't looking under the bed. 

"Haru, if you're in here please come out. I'm sorry for bringing it up. I know that topic makes you uncomfortable but, I just... I wanted to help." 

The silence that lasted seemed to take up an eternity before Makoto gave up on the room and left to check another. 

Letting out the breathe he had been holding Haruka forced his muscles to relax, retracting the claws he hadn't realized were out once more. 

The argument in the kitchen had snapped something inside of him, bringing out an anger he had buried for months, maybe even years. He had kept his emotions in check all this time and in a single moment it had all tumbled out, all thanks to this stupid cat body and it's instincts.

Wrapping his tail further around himself he curled up into a ball, not wanting to see or hear anything other than his own fur and heartbeat. Creating a separate world where nothing existed outside of him. 

It would be easier this way after all. Not having to worry about anyone but himself. No one to disappoint. No one to argue with. No one to lose. 

Trying to focus on nothing was harder than it sounded though, near impossible even. The only time he was able to accomplish this feat is when he was submerged in the water. 

When he lay at the bottom of the pool, watching the sunlight glitter through the clear depths, he didn't have to worry about anything, because nothing existed at that moment but the water and it's cool embrace.

He didn't know how long he spent shivering by himself under the Tachibana's bed, but by the time he forced himself to open his eyes his limbs had become stiff. 

Stretching out a bit, Haruka's eyes landed on a plate just outside the shadows of the edge of the bed. Knowing that hadn't been there before, he silently crept to get a closer look. 

On the ceramic blue and white plate laid a few cut up pieces of mackerel. He recognized that all the bits belonged to the middle of the fish, the edges cleanly cut off. 

Getting close enough to sniff it, he picked up a slightly burnt smell still clinging to the flesh of it, confirming that this was from the mackerel they had attempted to fry earlier. 

This was just like Makoto, always trying to salvage a situation to the best of his abilities. 

Somehow... he felt lighter. It's silly how such a simple gesture could turn his emotions around, but it also made sense, as he was never one for grandiose displays of attention or affection. 

Eating the fish in hungry gulps, he decided he couldn't blame Makoto for his own problems. It wasn't fair to either of them. 

~ ~ ~ 

Peaking around the doorway to Makoto's room he saw the other boy laying on his bed, eyes covered by an arm draped across face. 

_Haruka just go in you coward._ He prompted to himself. 

Getting a better grip on the shirt fabric he held in his mouth, he padded into the room. 

Haruka made a mrrp sound to alert Makoto of his presence, which worked as he immediately jumped up in bed. 

He must have been looking ridiculous as he dragged the big yellow and orange shirt across the floor, the material dragging awkwardly between his legs as there was no better way to pull it. 

Makoto looked confused at his actions, but also relieved that he had come out of hiding. 

"Haru what are you doing?"

Dropping the edge of the shirt, Haruka steeled himself before crawling inside through the bottom hem, pushing his way all the way to the neckline where he popped his head out to blink up at Makoto. 

Letting out a soft meow, he laid down in the cocoon of a shirt. If he had thought the shirt was big on him before... oh boy, it practically engulfed him now. 

No matter how embarrassing this was, he stood his ground, and willed Makoto to understand his feelings once again; that things haven't changed between them.

Thankfully this wasn't a problem for Makoto, he understood like always, and he only hesitated for a second before he leaned over the edge of the bed to pick Haruka up, shirt and all. 

"Haru did you get that out of the laundry basket? I know for a fact that isn't clean," Makoto lightly scolded while helping him out of the shirt. 

Haruka didn't need to say an apology out loud, he never did unless he wanted to, that was one of the benefits of being best friends with Makoto, but now was one of those times where he wanted to, no- needed to say it out loud. 

But of course he couldn't _say_ anything, so he let his instincts take over as he rubbed his head against Makoto's hand. Earning him a small smile in return. 

It seems his feelings got through. 

Though he wishes it could be a more direct communication for once, as this was too complicated for silence gestures alone to handle. 

But Makoto didn't push, nor say anything as they got ready for bed, probably not wanting to upset the already delicate situation. And as Haruka settled at the foot of the bed, the lights were turned out, covering them in darkness. 

From his position by the feet, he could feel every turn and twitch Makoto made as he tried to fall asleep. His own body still somewhat wired from the emotional roller coaster earlier, making sleep seem like a far away goal. 

His eyes having adjusted long ago, he glanced over at Makoto's face to see him still awake too, staring up at the ceiling. He could only imagine what he was thinking about, but he didn't have to for long, as a low voice broke the quiet, "It doesn't have to be now, or even a year from now but... I hope one day you can find a dream to swim towards Haru."

Looking away and tightly shutting his eyes, Haruka hoped Makoto would just think he's asleep and leave it alone for the night. 

He waited in baited anticipation, until finally Makoto turned onto his side, facing away from Haruka. 

Letting out the breathe he had been holding, he allowed his muscles to relax, and sneak a final look towards his friend. 

His blue eyes holding a certain sad finality; _If it were so easy to find a dream I would have done so long ago._

~ 

~

~

_  
Caught in the stage of sleep between consciousness and dreams Haruka sees himself sitting on the back porch, skinny legs belonging to his eight year old self dangling off the edge, swinging back and forth in an internal rhythm. His grandma is also there, tending the flowers of the garden a few feet away, her grey hair tied up in a messy bun as she brushes a few droplets of sweat away from her brow. She soon notices Haruka's rapt attention and motions for him to come over with the hand holding a trowel._

_In the peculiar way dreams always work, he is experiencing these actions first hand while simultaneously viewing the scene as a third party observer._

_He sees his hand reaching out to grab the watering can handle, and the white of his knuckles as he lifts the heavy object. He also sees himself using his knees for leverage as he pushes himself into a standing position, his skinny legs vibrating under the weight._

_This is definitely a memory, his subconscious recognizes that much, but the details are fuzzy and the scenes skip around as if the past was an old record player missing some of the tracks._

_One minute it's noon and they are under the midday sun, planting a few sprouts in the freshly upturned earth, and the next they are suddenly sitting in the living room with the sliding doors open, watching the sun set._

_There is a paper sitting on the low table between them, he doesn't remember what it is but Haruka has negative feelings towards it. He chooses to ignore it in place of watching a few birds melt into the horizon, flying closer and closer to the ocean._

_He is jarred again as suddenly the paper is in his grandma's hands, and he is feeling trepidation settle low in his gut. He should know how this scene plays out, he should know why he is nervous, it is a memory after all, but nothing comes to mind in that moment._

_He watched intently as her blue eyes scan the paper before her, reading glasses firmly settled on the ridge of her nose. The corners of her mouth twitch slightly in what might be amusement. "Hmm it says here that you want to be a merman when you grow up?"_

_Haruka looks away from her, he already knows how this sounds to other people, he had already gotten a lecture from his parents after all. He didn't want another person to tell him that it was impossible, especially his grandma, who he could trust enough to tell anything._

_In the back of his mind he could hear a trickling of water start up, and soon felt the cool liquid tickling his feet._

_"Why do you want to be a merman Haruka?" She gently asks, and unlike the teachers at school or his parents there was no condescension, no annoyance, or falsity lacing her tone, just genuine interest._

_He could feel the water beneath his hands as he swirled his fingers in nervous circles. "I would be able to swim wherever and whenever I want to... that's really all I want."_

_The water was continuously rising, starting to swallow up the floorboards and soaking the mat with saltwater, but his grandmother didn't seem to notice, or if she did, didn't comment on the invading tide._

_"That certainly is a wonderful dream, I can see why you hold onto it so fiercely. Oh how I would love to swim in the bright coral reefs I see so much about on TV! They really are so beautiful, I don't know if I would ever come up," she sighed in wonderment, the tide partially receding along with her breath. A far off look overtook her stormy blue eyes, but as they locked back on Haruka there was a smile crinkling the corners. "But if I did that how would I spend time with my favorite grandson?"_

_"I'm your only grandson," Haruka mumbled, still feeling happy at the comment nonetheless._

_She bopped him on the head for that, "That still doesn't change the fact that you're my favorite."_

_Never being able to handle direct compliments, he decided not to answer and instead began scooping up some of the water that was now up to ankles, Haruka watched as it slid between his fingers, creating ripples as it rejoined the main source. He felt peace returning to the dream with each little splash._

_But the ocean could not be sated so easily._

_The flooded corners of the room becoming dark as the water was becoming too deep to see the bottom._

_"So you don't think my dream is dumb..?" Haruka whispered the question, as he tried to hide the desperation in his eyes._

_"Haruka dear, no dream is dumb as long as it holds meaning in your heart," she whispered back as the shadows crept closer. The sunset seeming to be stuck at the bright red stage it enters right before dimming into an orange hue._

_None of that made sense to Haruka though, in his young mind or his current mind, that isn't what society tells him, that certainly isn't what his parents tell him. There is such a thing as a dumb dream. And he knows his is one of them. But what could he do when being free to swim is the only thing he craves... "What if... what if I can't tell what my heart is saying?"_

_"You just have to give it time sweetheart, not everyone knows what they want right away. Besides you are too young to be thinking about this sort of thing."_

_"What if I never know what I want?"_

_The darkness had crept up to Haruka's toes at this point. Making the abyss seem like it was going to swallow him up._

_"Everyone has something they want out of life, whether it be a family or career or to finish a penny collection... each ambition is just as important as the next, because only that person knows what makes them happy, and you can never say what makes someone happy is worthless."_

_Not sure if she had finally noticed the darkness or just sensed his depressing thoughts, she scooted closer to Haruka, pulling him onto her lap. Effectively protecting him from the rising water that splashed up against them, darkening their clothing up to their abdomens._

_Haruka watched as she reached around her neck to untie her necklace, which was held together by a silver chain. The aquamarine gem that was coiled in a silver loop caught the still setting sun's rays, making the light blue become tinted in red before returning to its original gleam. "Do you know what this is Haruka?"_

_"A necklace...?"_

_She chuckled at that, "Well yes, it is a necklace, but I was specially referring to the gem. You see, this is an aquamarine stone, long ago sailors used to believe these gems belonged to the mermaids, which were hidden amongst their underwater treasures. Those lucky enough to get their hands on one were said to gain protection from the ocean."_

_She reached around Haruka's neck to clasp the chain in place, letting the blue stone fall onto his chest. The change in the surrounding water was immediate as it's encroaching nature was put to a halt._

_His small fingers gingerly grasped the stone, looking it over with curious blue eyes that were just a few shades darker than the gem itself. Once finishing his inspection he tilted his head back, fully intending on asking why his grandma had done that, but didn't get to utter a single syllable before she interrupted him._

_"This is so you'll never forget your original dream," she smiled, softly brushing his hair back. "Because it might not always be possible to make them come true, as becoming a merman is quite a difficult feat, but I promise you they are worth hanging onto."  
_

~

~ 

~ 

Waking up in the early hours of the morning, just before the sun starts to rise, but right in time to hear the birds begin their calls, Haruka tried to blink the sleep from his eyes. The remnants of the dream slipping from his consciousness as fast the ocean current, only leaving him with a vague mix of sadness and longing. 

Feeling more tired than before he had fallen asleep, he forced himself to get up and moving, no matter how much his limbs protested. 

Taking a quick glance at his friend still deeply asleep, he jumped off the bed and made his way downstairs. 

Still too sluggish to think about anything of substance he sat down in front of the back window and stared out into the garden, his mind going blank as he watched the outside world slowly get brighter. 

And it wasn't long into his silent watch before he noticed a familiar white tail sticking out of the tall grass, and it only took a few more seconds before the tail's owner popped her head out into the open. 

Snowfall's green eyes scanned the clearing as she took a few hesitant steps forward, but she must have sensed his presence because she stopped to look up at the window, quickly locking onto him, making eye contact. 

Recognition flashed on her face, as she dashed over to the side of the house, meowing up at him, but the glass muffling whatever she was trying to say. 

Haruka was about to try and motion his inability to hear her when she suddenly froze in place, ears laid back and head swinging around to look at something out of his view. 

Then she was off, darting out of there faster than his eyes could keep up, leaving Haruka in confusion. 

Trying to see what had spooked her, he practically leaned against the glass, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary in the greying dawn light. 

Internally shrugging it off as weird cat behavior, he made off to wake up Makoto. 

It was about time for his morning bath. 

~ ~ ~ 

Although, if Haruka had chosen to stay beside the window a few moments longer, he would have noticed the auburn pelt of an animal slinking across the dew heavy grass of the Tachibana's backyard. 

~ ~ ~ 

Standing in the threshold to Makoto's room, Haruka hesitated. 

Because while they had made up somewhat, it still felt like he was walking on glass. One false move and he could break the argument free from its confines. 

Luckily, he didn't have to do anything as Makoto woke up on his own. Slowly blinking up at the ceiling, probably contemplating going back to sleep. 

It looked as if Makoto was making a move to check the time on his alarm clock when his eyes locked onto wide blue ones. 

Haruka suddenly had the urge to either quickly run away or pounce at the source of this direct stare, his body automatically crouching to prepare. This swell of emotion he felt was similar to when Rin challenged him to a race, although this time he didn't know what could possibly be a challenge here. 

Just as his tail started to flick back and forth, the challenge was abruptly ended as Makoto made to get up, cutting off eye contact. 

"Haru why are you up so early? It's only... 6:30am..." Makoto said while finally checking the alarm clock. 

_I'm usually awake by this time. You just sleep in too long._

"You are probably thinking along the lines of 'this isn't actually that early'. But, let me tell you; it is. Only the birds get up this early."

Standing up from the bed while attempting to make his hair lay flat, Makoto made his way over to the door, knowing what Haruka wanted. 

Running up between Makoto's legs, now excited at the prospect of water, he meowed out a long bathhh, which of course just sounds like a whiny meow to any human. But he's sure his message got through as they headed to the bathroom together. 

As soon as he was within reach he jumped up onto the bath rim, where he waited for the water to fill the tub. In the meantime Makoto brushed his teeth and gargled with mouthwash at the sink a few feet away. 

Once the water was at a reasonable level, the faucet was shut off, and Haruka, predictably, spent the rest of his morning in the bath. Only getting out once the Tachibana's were ready to leave for school. 

He saw them off just like the last time, sitting on the stone steps above as they got smaller and smaller, till they were the size of ants walking along the sidewalk. 

Before he left, Makoto had promised that he would come home straight after school, which he was only able to do by promising Gou that he would do twice as much training to make up for his absence once this was all over. 

If he could talk, he would have insisted that Makoto take advantage of the swimming time given to him, but even if he could speak... he probably wouldn't have won that argument... 

Letting out a breath of hot air, he made his way down the stone steps as well. Thinking about heading to the fish market to kill some time during the day. 

He debated seeing if Snowfall would want to join, but quickly decided he wanted to enjoy the solitude for a few hours. And besides, he hadn't seen her since that weird incident this morning. 

~ ~ ~ 

Watching the fish market from the shade of a nearby bush, Haruka realized just how busy this place was. He had never thought so as a human, but being a small fraction of his old height really put things in a different perspective, as the adults stomped past like giants in a hurry. Not to mention the smells of the place being a lot stronger to his sensitive cat nose. With saltwater and seafood being the most overwhelming of the odors. 

The clanking of metal caught his attention as an old man, at a nearby booth, started to gut a few of the fish that he had grabbed out of an ice cooler from beneath his table. 

Haruka watched in rapt attention at the skill used to remove the swim bladder and intestines from within the silver fish. He was always looking for ways to improve his own technique for cleaning out mackerel, but unfortunately he rarely had a chance to, as Makoto would start to turn green the second they stopped to watch a fisherman give a demonstration. 

But then it hit him that he wouldn't need any technique if he was stuck like this. 

Cats just used what nature provided them with; their teeth and claws. 

Making himself upset, which had become quite the common occurrence, he got up to wander around, and hopefully find some dropped scraps. Seeing as all this fish was making him hungry. 

Winding his way between booths, the hum of the crowd grew and quieted in waves, only being able to catch a few snippets of words here and there. 

Every so often he would catch sight of other cats, probably looking for scraps just like him. But they all gave him, and each other distance, not wanting to test boundaries. 

Starting to think this was maybe a waste of time, as another booth owner shooed him away, he heard something amidst the chatter that caught his attention. 

"fresh- caught- morning- mackerel-"

Haruka could only make out part of what he was saying, but that was more than enough. 

Sitting himself down in front of the booth selling mackerel, Haruka listened in to what the fisherman was discussing with a costumer. 

Or at least he tried to...

"price- best- town-"

_What... what are they saying?_

"not- ... better- deal?"

Haruka shook his head to try and clear his ears. 

"could- price- better- good?"

He was less than a foot away from the both of them and yet... his ability to perceive what they are saying went in and out as he tried to focus in. 

It was like a static was blocking out the rest of the words. They were still there, mumbled and intelligible, but unable to be processed by his brain. 

It's like when you are at a restaurant and there is a conversation going on at a nearby table, you can either make a conscious effort to listen in, or have it become part of the background noise, just out of reach of your perception. Now imagine being stuck in the latter. That's what he was experiencing. 

First the writing at the shrine, and now human speech itself!? 

_No way. There is no way this is happening!_ His thoughts tried to vehemently deny. But the more he listened the worse it got. 

Turning in circles, trying to maybe pick up words from people at other booths, he started to freak himself out. And at the loud clack of someone knocking over a chair, Haruka made a mad dash out of the market, forgetting all about the mackerel at this point. Now faced with a bigger problem than finding lunch. 

But just as luck would have it, he bumped right into another cat as he turned a corner. Quickly dodging a swipe as the tomcat hissed out, "Watch where you're going fox dung!"

Feeling more unsettled at how easily he understood this cat compared to the humans, he increased his speed as he made a beeline for home. Ducking in between houses that he knew were shortcuts to his destination. 

Arriving there out of breath maybe 15 minutes later, he immediately collapsed in the grass of his yard to recollect himself. 

_It had been really loud at the fish market right?_

_He probably just couldn't hear what they were saying over the chatter... right?_

_And definitely not due to him being a cat._

He had been pushing down this line of thought for the past couple days, but it's been getting harder and harder to deny what was becoming increasingly obvious. 

He was turning more into a cat with each passing day. 

Or he assumed that's what all these new changes were, seeing as he had never had first-hand knowledge of being a cat before this. 

What other changes could he expect to happen? Is he going to start forgetting the alphabet or not know how to do basic math? It seemed like a real possibility with the way things were going. 

Maybe he should just give in and accept his fate as a cat after all. Seeing as fighting this would do him no good, and... in all honesty it didn't seem like a bad life...

Cats just do what they please. They wake up when they want to, go wherever they want, swim whenever they want, and most importantly; have no expectations set upon them by society. Cats truly live on a level of freedom he could never reach as a human. 

And that freedom is what Haruka had always wanted; to no longer have to rely on the water to stave off the anxiety and pressure, to just live with no worries. Can being a cat do that for him?

He let out a deep sigh, watching the grass bend and sway away from his breathe. This really was too much to think about... he needed a bath to help. 

Getting up onto the back porch that was beside the living room, he dug his claws into a gap between the door and it's frame, knowing that if he could get the right leverage he could push the sliding door open. And after a minute or two he was able to do just that, pushing it just enough for a cat to be able to slip through. 

But just as he was about to go in he was stopped by a quiet thump and the sound of claws clicking against the wood. Turning towards the noise, he prayed that it wouldn't be some random neighborhood cat coming to annoy him. And his prayers were answered, somewhat, as it turned out to be Snowfall and a white cat with grey patches he didn't know.

"Hey you shouldn't go in there!" Snowfall hissed in a nervous tone.

"Yeah we're all hungry here, but going into a two-leg den is a baaaad idea," said the cat with grey patches.

Not feeling like socializing at all, he kept his response short, "I live here..." And without further explanation, turned around and entered his house, eyes quickly adjusting to the dim lighting compared to the sunlight outside. 

Planning on heading to the kitchen to try his luck with turning on the facet, Haruka jumped when a voice was suddenly next to him, not expecting either cat to follow him inside. 

"Wait, so the dark furred two-leg that lives here owns you? Why didn't you say so last time? But... I could have sworn I saw you in the tall two-leg's den this morning." She paused, eyes narrowing in thought. "Are both of them your owners? Does that mean you get fed twice the amount of food? That sounds amazing."

Haruka watched as Snowfall made her way around the room, sniffing anything and everything, tail twitching in nervous excitement as she asked question after question. 

Glancing back at the doorway he could see the yellow eyes of the patchy cat peeking in, obviously too nervous if the way his fur stood up was any indication. 

But because he didn't answer any of her inquiries, she jumped to her own conclusions and carried on, "I haven't seen this two-leg for awhile now though, did he move away or something? Is that why you've been hunting outside for first the time ever?" 

Her voice suddenly raised as she thought of something. "Oh no! Is he not coming back!? His mate will be so sad."

Being bombarded by questions was one of Haruka's least favorite activities out there, and it was starting to stress him out even more than he already was. Especially because he didn't know how to respond to most of it. 

And had she always been this chatty? He could have sworn she was less annoying before. Or maybe that was just his imagination since he didn't want to deal with this right now... but a nagging feeling in his mind told him it's more likely connected to that strange occurrence that morning. 

Blinking rapidly as green eyes were suddenly right in front of his face, forcing him out of his thoughts, he took a couple steps back.

"Are you just going to stand there and not answer any of my questions?"

Not remembering all the questions, he settled on responding to the last one, "A-ah sorry! I don't know where the person is who lives here... But hopefully he will be back soon."

Snowfall studied his face for a few seconds before seeming to decide something, nodding to herself, "Well if you need somewhere to stay, me and Pebblenose here know a place. It's where a lot of loners and ex-kittypets hang out peacefully, kind of like a neutral zone. But different than the one I showed you last time."

Thanking her out of courtesy, he moved to put more space between them, fully intending to carry on with his original mission of obtaining water when his eyes got caught on a mess of papers laying on the floor. 

His backpack lay open a few inches beside it, the papers most likely having fallen out during the time he had tried to hide in it to avoid being found out by Rin. 

Not liking the mess, he wanted to at least brush it to the side, but as soon as he got close he was able to see what was on top of said pile of papers. 

That cursed future assessment. 

Even being unable to read most of the words he would recognize it anywhere, the spacing and lines being burned into his eyelids. The familiar squeezing pressure returning within his chest, and to make matters worse, the few words he could make out were disappearing in his mind, cruelly leaving only the kanji for 'free' remaining. 

He started to feel dizzy as he tried to concentrate on anything but the constricting feeling inside. 

"He-hey are you alright?" Snowfall worriedly stepped beside him. 

"I'll go," The words escaping his mouth on their own accord. 

"Huh? What?" She asked, outwardly confused about the change in subject. 

"I said, I'll go. I'll go with you and your friend." _Anything to escape this feeling. Anything to escape his dreamless future._ "I just.. I just need to get a couple things first."

"Oh okay!? Take your time I guess." Snowfall stepped back as Haruka passed by her, heading on a mission towards his grandmother's old room. 

Trying to remember where his grandmother had kept her jewelry he began to check all the boxes on top of the dresser, having made it up there with some difficulty. 

Nosing open an old wooden box he found what he was looking for. 

The necklace he had forgotten all about until his dream last night. 

If he was going to run away he wanted something to remember her by. Because who knows what his parents would do with this house, and everything inside, once he was gone. 

_Once he was gone.. geez his thoughts were getting a tad dramatic. It's not like he couldn't come back if he changed his mind._

Just as Haruka grabbed the silver chain of the necklace between his teeth, a loud crash sounded from behind him, making his body tense and head swivel around towards the source of the noise. 

He caught a glimpse of a white tail before it disappeared around the corner of the doorway, leaving a knocked over stand and a broken vase laying on the floor. 

He could hear the thudding of paws against the wooden floors as the culprit left the immediate vicinity. 

Feeling his tail twitch in annoyance, Haruka jumped down from the dresser and made his way to tell off Snowfall for being so reckless. But was surprised when he rounded the corner to bump straight into her, having heard the footfalls lead further away. 

"H-hey so I think Pebblenose might have come up here?" Her green eyes quickly darting to the broken ceramic vase back to him. 

_Well that explains who did this I guess._

"...I noticed," he said, eyes narrowing in annoyance. 

"He always gets jumpy when in confined spaces so I don't know why he even came inside, that mouse brain. I'll go get him and then we can leave yeah?" Snowfall seemed to sense his demeanor, so she didn't waste time before high tailing it out of there. 

Standing in the hallway, aquamarine stone dangling from its silver chain, he couldn't help feeling like he was missing something...

Making his way down the stairs to the bathroom, his blue eyes scanned the tiled room, landing on the white tub he had spent hours upon hours in throughout his life, going as far back as when his grandma used to give him baths as a kid. 

He could feel himself starting to have doubts. 

Is this what he really wanted?

What _did_ he want? 

He didn't know how long he had been standing there, when he heard voices behind him. 

"Is he okay?" A voice that most likely belonged to Pebblenose asked.

"Not sure. He's usually quiet like this, so it might be normal?" Snowfall responded. 

"Don't seem normal to me."

"I think this used to be his den. Give him a moment."

"Well I'm going to wait outside, this house kinda gives me chills. Too quiet or somethin'."

"Okay scaredy mouse, we'll be out in a minute."

Haruka could practically hear the glare sent at Snowfall in response to that. 

And as he padded away, Snowfall was now able to direct her full attention to Haruka. "I tried to stop him from wrecking anything else but.. he might have gotten spooked when I walked up behind him," she chuckled, making herself seem less than innocent. 

Oddly enough, the nervous nature of Pebblenose is what reminded him of what he was missing, and he jumped up onto the ledge next to the bath to retrieve it. 

Snowfall padded over to the bottom of the tub and blinked up at him with questioning eyes, tilting her head to the side, "You got everything now?"

Jumping down beside the white cat, Haruka turned and could only give a nod in response, since he didn't want to drop what he was carrying.

He left the room with a mix of dread, and surprisingly excitement, twisting in his stomach. 

He could leave this behind him. 

He could be free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this chapter was suppose to have both Haru and Makoto's POVs but... like always I got carried away. So next chapter will be all Makoto's POV, and things get kinda crazy. 
> 
> And if anyone is interested in seeing what the necklace looks like [THIS](https://wanelo.co/p/21016830/blue-aquamarine-necklace-rough-stone-necklace-natural-aquamarine-jewelry-raw-stone-jewelry-gypsy-gemstone-jewelry-boho-necklace) is what I based it on


	9. Missing Purrson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter Haru made the decision to run away with the strays, Snowfall and Pebblenose, to escape the dreadful monster known as 'responsibilities'. So what is happening on Makoto's end? Lets find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a little while since the last chapter, so, if you don't remember what happened at the end of last chapter I would suggest re-reading the last half of chapter 8 before continuing ! 
> 
> Enjoy :)

Having arrived home right after school, like promised, Makoto dropped his backpack off in the house before looking for Haru. Checking the sides of his own house before making his way up the stairs to the Nanase residence. 

"Haru! Haru, you here?" He called out, while pushing open the gate to the backyard. The squeaking of the hinges telling him that they really should be oiled soon. 

Glancing around the familiar garden and back porch, there was no sign of black fur to be seen. Not even a meow greeted him, all that filled the air was the buzzing of a few bumblebees as they made their way from flower to flower, bending the stems with their added weight. 

He tried calling his friend's name one more time, but again the only response he received was silence. 

"Huh. Wonder where he got off to..."

Trying to wrack his brain for typical Haru behaviors the only possibilities that came to mind were the weekly fish market and finding some sort of body of water. 

But considering the fact that Haru wouldn't be able to buy fish in this state, that left only water... like usual. 

Although this didn't really help him as there were several water-filled options nearby for Haru to choose from. 

Rubbing the back of his neck, Makoto contemplated his options and decided that it would be best to just wait for Haru to return on his own. He probably didn't wander too far, at least, that's what he hoped. 

Closing the gate behind him as he turned around, Makoto failed to notice that the sliding back door was slightly cracked open, with just enough space for any small animal to slip through. 

~ ~ ~ 

"Onii-chan! Where's Kitty?" Ran asked for the third time in the past couple hours. 

Startled, Makoto jumped away from the window he had been looking out of. "A-ah, I'm sure Kitty is just exploring! He'll be back before it's dark out."

"That's what you've been saying," Ran pouted, not looking too convinced. "But it's been hours already and the sun is starting to set... is Kitty lost?" 

Turning to fully face is sister, Makoto noticed that her expression was getting increasingly upset each time she asked about Haru's whereabouts. Maybe Ran was somehow picking up on the anxious energy radiating off of him? Though it probably didn't help that he was worriedly staring out the window for minutes at a time in hopes of seeing Haru return.

"Don't you worry, he knows his way home, he's... just running a little late," Makoto mentally face palmed himself for that. Was that really the best excuse he could come up with? He made it sound like Haru was late to a business meeting or something. 

"O..kay... if you say so," she said while making her way over to the window as well, pale teal eyes peaking over the sill to get a better look outside. But it didn't take long before she was bored with staring at nothing and announced she was going to watch some cartoons. 

"Finish your homework first," Makoto called after her. 

"I finished it at school!" She yelled back from across the house as she sprinted away. 

Leaving the window with a sigh, Makoto trailed after her. If Ren was still doing his homework there was no way Ran had finished hers already. 

Going into the living room, he found her already sitting on the floor with the TV on. The remote was in her outstretched hand as she rapidly flipped through the channels to get to her station. 

"Ran," he said in a warning tone. 

"Just one episode I swear." 

Gently taking the remote from her hand, he clicked the power button to turn off the TV. And as the screen went black, he could see the reflection of her glare staring back at him. 

"I'll even help with the homework, how does that sound?" He asked, trying to placate her. 

Laying back so she was fully on the floor, she dramatically groaned, "Ugh, find, lets get this over with."

Letting her lead the way upstairs, so she could start getting the homework ready to go, Makoto hesitated by the window as he walked past it. Seeing the long shadows of evening slowly become apart of the larger darkness that is known as night. 

_Where could Haru be?_

And as the night went on, that question only multiplied in his head, becoming a background noise as he periodically checked for signs of Haru as he went through his nightly routine of chores. 

Sort the laundry. 

Check the back door. 

Clean the dishes. 

Check the side window. 

Get the twins ready for bed. 

Check the front door. 

Brush his teeth. 

Check the back door again. 

Really the only thing stopping him from starting a one man search party was the fact that he would have to leave the twin home alone, and he couldn't do that. 

So as Makoto settled down for the night, he reasoned to himself that Haru was probably just off exploring all the different water baths he couldn't fit into before as a human. That would be a Haru thing to do after all. 

He would be back by morning, dripping wet and looking like a soaked dishrag on legs. 

Feeling a little better at the thought of that image, Makoto pulled the covers tight around himself, and willed himself to sleep. 

There was no real reason to worry. 

. 

.

.

But as the sun rose the next day to reveal a quiet and empty yard, Makoto knew deep in his gut that something had happened. 

~ ~ ~ 

"Nagisa. We can't just skip school," Makoto hissed through his teeth as the blond tried to actively block his path to the shoe lockers. 

"You said he's been missing all night. We have to go looking for him! What if he's stuck somewhere? What if he can't find his way back? What if-" Nagisa flung his arms dramatically only to have them hit Rei who was approaching from behind. "Oop?! Sorry Rei-chan!" 

Looking exasperated, Rei fixed his glasses, having gotten used to this over the year. "Apology accepted. Care to explain what has got you so worked up? You didn't forget your assignment at home again did you?" 

"Not this time! Besides this is much more important than- wait, hold on a second, lemme check." Nagisa said as he swung his backpack off and began rummaging around inside it. 

Switching his focus from Nagisa, Rei looked at Makoto for answers. Purple eyes quickly taking note of how disheveled the upperclassman looked. "..Senpai?"

Not wanting to go over this again, Makoto took a deep breath before starting, "So, um, you see, last night Haru didn't come back, and he wasn't around this morning either. I tried checking the usual spots around the neighborhood, but I couldn't find him. And as far as I can tell he didn't leave a message of any kind either, so I'm starting to get worried." 

Okay that was somewhat of a lie. He wasn't just 'starting to get worried', he was practically on the verge of panic, and has been since he woke up this morning with no sign of Haru still. 

"I'm positive Haruka-senpai couldn't have gotten far, how about after schoo-"

But Rei was abruptly cut off as Nagisa jumped back in at the mention of the previous topic. "Yeahhh as I was saying! We shouldn't waste time with school when our friend is missing!" 

"Nagisa-kun, that would be highly suspicious if all of us didn't show up to classes today, not to mention there would surely be repercussions. I do NOT want to blemish my perfect attendance record."

"Are you saying you value attendance scores over your friend? For shame Rei-chan..." Nagisa tsked as he bent his head over in mock disappointment. 

Rei's eyebrow ticked in annoyance. "That's not what I'm saying at all."

"Okay good, then lets go!" Nagisa said while grabbing Rei's wrist to drag him towards the door. 

Nagisa was surprisingly strong when he wanted to be, and was already halfway to the door before Makoto caught up and grabbed Rei's other wrist, tugging them both to a halt. 

"Nagisa! Wait." 

Nagisa tried tugging forward more, but with both the other boys now firmly planting their feet he couldn't move an inch. 

"Ugh fine," Nagisa threw up his hands as he let go of Rei's wrist. "But I would have thought you'd be the first to suggest a full blown out search party Mako-chan, considering whose missing..."

"We... we don't know that he's _missing_ exactly. And even Rei agrees, we can't just skip classes," Makoto cringed at how weak the argument sounded on his tongue. He knew that staying at school was the right choice. But conversely he knew that staying at school was the wrong choice as well. Looking down into Nagisa's eyes, he saw the same worry he'd been carrying since yesterday evening reflected back at him. Speaking with more confidence he spoke what he knew to be true, "You know I want to be out there searching as much as you do." 

Pulling a defeated smile, Nagisa made his way past Makoto, back towards the lockers, "I know, sorry Mako-chan."

Giving a cursory glance outside before following the others over, Makoto redirected his vision just in time to see Nagisa once again rummaging through his backpack. And as he placed his outdoor shoes inside his locker he heard a quiet mumbling, "I wonder if it's possible to write five paragraphs in 10 minutes...? Hmmm actually I think one really good paragraph should do it, yeah, totally, page minimums are more like guidelines anyways."

Apparently Rei had heard him too because an indignant reprimand followed, "Nagisa! No! That's not how assignments work." 

~ ~ ~ 

Having just got out of Algebra 2, Makoto made his way up the second flight of stairs of the school, pausing mid step as he felt a vibration from his pants pocket. Surprised that someone was texting him at this time of day he brought the phone to eye level to check the contact name. 

[Mom]

Realizing he was somewhat blocking the stairwell as a few students went around him throwing half irritated, mainly tired, glances at him, Makoto slipped the phone back into his pocket before making the rest of his way to his classroom. He swung off his homework laden backpack before taking a seat and opening the message. 

[Mom]: Coming home today. Pick up some potatoes on the way home from school please, I am making soup and might not have enough :)

Any other day he wouldn't have hesitated before saying yes but...he had the whole Haru situation to deal with still. He really shouldn't have anything else distracting him when something so major needed his immediate attention. The potatoes can't be that important. Right? But... who was he kidding, of course he was going to help out his mom. 

[Makoto]: Yeah no problem! 

[Mom]: Of course Haruka is invited for dinner as well. 

[Mom]: Is he feeling any better? 

Makoto paused before responding. _How should he answer this?_ Haru was no closer to being 'better' than he was four days ago. Hell, he didn't even know where Haru was at the moment. He really didn't have any choice but to continue the lie. Although, even as he typed out the text he knew this couldn't go on much longer without someone questioning further, and possibly finding out the truth. 

[Makoto]: He still isn't feeling well enough to go back to school yet...might need a few more days 

[Mom]: Poor dear 

[Mom]: If he still doesn't feel well by tomorrow I can take him to the doctors ? 

[Makoto]: no

[Makoto]: I mean 

[Makoto]: it's okay 

[Makoto]: he is on the road to recovery 

[Makoto]: just dropped off fresh mackerel at his place yesterday 

[Makoto]: he'll be jumping into inappropriate bodies of water again before we know it ha ha 

Not wanting to drag the conversation on and allow it to enter dangerous territories, Makoto stuffed his phone into the front pocket of his backpack. The last thing he needed was to have his mom walk into an empty house and freak out when a supposedly sick Haru is nowhere to be seen. 

Turning to the front of the room when the teacher started writing on the board, Makoto prepared himself for another class period of struggling to focus while simultaneously stopping himself from overthinking. 

Gripping his pencil tightly, he probably pressed down harder than necessary as he jotted down what was written on the board. 

~ ~ ~

The end of the school day could not have come sooner for Makoto as he hurriedly shoved all his supplies into his bag and jogged out of the classroom, dodging a few classmates standing right outside the door. 

At the ground floor by the exit he sees Rei, Nagisa, and Kou already waiting for him, as their classes are located on the lower levels of the school building. They look up as he approaches and wave. 

"They already filled me in," Kou pointed her thumb in the direction of Nagisa and Rei. "So I guess practice is canceled for today... again. Ugh, this is totally ruining my muscle building prep plan." Kou flipped through a couple dozen pages of what looked like detailed notes in a red spiral notebook. 

"We are spared another day," Nagisa whispered, while holding a hand over his heart. 

"You're gonna do twice as many laps for that comment Nagisa!" 

"Hey, that wasn't me! It was Rei."

"Yeah...right.." Kou responded in a sarcastic monotone voice. 

The entire time the two were bickering Makoto had been switching his shoes out, and had just finished tying off his second sneaker when Nagisa startled him by suddenly appearing beside him, magenta eyes right in his face. He even felt his heart stop a second at the sudden closeness. 

"Nagisa!" 

"So are you ready to go yet Mako-chan?" 

The other boy didn't even acknowledge the startled call of his name, so Makoto moved on with a sigh, "Yeah, yeah. I'm about ready." 

"Okay cool, because you are the last one of us to see Haru-chan so you are in charge of the search party. That and the fact that you probably know every source of water in a square mile of your house." 

Hey now, he didn't know _every_ body of water around his neighborhood, just most of them... any that a high school boy could fit in more precisely. 

As the team made their way off of school grounds, Rei approached Makoto with a piece of paper in hand, "Makoto-senpai, I have something that may be a bit of help. During geography class I couldn't focus on the lesson, partly because it was a such a rudimentary topic, I mean honestly, we all know how tectonic plates work, what are we? Back in grade school? Anyways, I drew up a grid of the basic area around yours and Haruka-senpai's houses, and concluded that the fastest means by which to thoroughly search would require we each take 5 of the blocked out areas, starting 3.5 kilometers from the northeast corner of the shrine."

Rei paused to take a breath from his explanation, and in that moment Makoto was able to cut in, "That sounds great Rei. I'm sure this will make the search more...organized."

Rei gave a pleased smile at this, now beaming down at the paper in his hands. And Makoto couldn't help but wonder if maybe he was still trying to prove himself useful to the team even after all they had went through. Of course Rei had nothing to worry about, it was silly to think otherwise, but from experience Makoto knew that insecurities like that don't just go away. Especially when it comes to trying to fill the space of a certain fiery redhead. Because no matter how much you stretch, and pull, and twist, it's all in vain, you can't possibly fit yourself into a space you were never meant for...

 _Okay no. No. he was not going to start a pity party thought train. Not today._

Forcing his gaze up and to the right, he caught sight of the ocean, somewhat surprised they had already walked so far. 

The sand gently littering the sidewalk in a thin layer, as the wind blew more of the coarse particles away from the flowing tide. 

Kou put up one of her hands as shield, as a particularly strong wind wiped her ponytail into her face, bringing some loose sand with it. "Pfft, geez, sand can be so annoying and it gets everywhere," she sputtered out. 

Attempting to fix her hair, Kou tilted her head to the side and ran her fingers through the red locks. Bits of sand falling out as she went down the ponytail. 

Coming to a halt a few feet ahead, the boys waited for her to finish up, Nagisa jumping from foot to foot in impatience. But Makoto noticed she had stopped brushing with her fingers and was now staring at the ground. 

"Is everythi-"

"Are those cat tracks?" She asked abruptly. 

Everyone went to huddle into a circle around the unknown tracks in the sand, trying to figure out if they were indeed cat paw prints or not. 

"They seem to be heading in the direction of the beach...." Rei commented. "But it's hard to identify the exact species the print belongs to, it could be a cat, but could just as likely belong to a small dog." 

Nagisa's eyes lit up in excitement. "It's probably Haru-chan!" 

"Nagisa-kun please, that is a profoundly baseless assumption. These paw prints could belong to any number of stray cats, and the chances of these exact prints belonging to Haruka-senpai are extremely low." 

"But you said so yourself that they lead towards the ocean! Haru-chan loves the ocean, right Mako-chan?" Nagisa turned his excited gaze towards Makoto, clearly expecting backup for his argument. 

Well Nagisa isn't wrong... Haru loves the ocean, whether he's human or cat, that doesn't change. But he also can't deny the fact that Rei pointed out; the chances of their luck being this good are very low. 

Standing up straighter, Makoto squinted his eyes against the glaring sun as he scoped the beach for any sign of dark fur. He didn't see anything from here, but it is a long beach, and there are plenty of rocks and dunes to hide behind. 

Still debating it, Makoto intelligently replied "Uhh..." 

Meanwhile his mind screamed at him to just follow this lead. Screw the impossibility of it. He had been doing nothing to find Haru all day and his skin itched with the need to do _something_. Even if that something turned out to be a wild goose chase. 

"I don't think it would hurt to check out... Haru always ends up by water."

"Ha! See!" Nagisa boasted, pointing his finger at Rei. "Now lets go find Haru-chan." 

Following the tracks was harder than they originally thought though as sections were blown away by the wind and trampled by foot traffic in others. At one point Kou had started to follow another set of paw prints before turning back around as Rei insisted it was the one he was currently by. Nagisa was surprisingly quiet as he concentrated on not losing the trail, humming some crime investigation show intro as he went. 

A few seagulls cried overhead as the minutes passed on, their shadows dancing over the sand, as they glided towards the sea where the rest of the flock gathered. A single gull flew low over the water, searching for prey while it avoided the misty spray that was spewed up which each thunderous crash. 

He couldn't explain why but the crashing of the ocean waves sounded even more menacing to Makoto today. 

Maybe it was just the close proximity or the fact that he was already on edge as it is, he couldn't tell. 

But as they followed the tracks closer and closer to tide, he felt something cold to start coil in his stomach, like a fear that was always there but usually kept at bay. And that's when he realized, there was nothing between him and the depths of the sea. 

He could just walk right into its cold embrace and never return. 

Hadn't he had this thought before, years ago, when he was questioning the reason why he swam? Or maybe, he had never really stopped thinking about the sea and its perilous breadth. 

Does Haru ever think about this? 

He sure hopes not, though he knows that hope is a feeble one.

Makoto hadn't realized how tense he had gotten until his ringtone went off, making him jump a good foot into the air. 

Apparently it wasn't just him it startled as the other three jumped slightly too. 

"Oh my god!" Kou exclaimed with a hand over her heart, "Why don't you just have it on vibrate?"

"Hello?" Makoto answered without checking the caller ID. Mouthing a quick 'sorry' at the others. 

He heard a dim response over the speaker but the ocean drowned out what was being said. Pulling the phone away from his ear he checked the screen to see that it was his mom. 

"Be right back you guys," he waved for them to continue searching, while he walked away from the ocean to better hear. 

"Sorry mom, what was that?"

"Makoto sweetie," her voice sounded strained, immediately giving Makoto the sense that something was wrong. "Do you know where Haruka is?" 

The question caught Makoto off guard, because no, he didn't know where Haru was, and he was just about to answer as such before remembering he _should_ know where Haru is. As far as his mom knew Haru was still recovering from the flu. "Ah he should be at home resting...that's where he was last time I saw him."

But as frantic shuffling was heard over the line Makoto realized something. 

His mom was home now.

She was making soup. 

Haru is 'sick'.

"Mom! Mom!" He yelled over the phone, trying to get her attention. 

When she picked back up her voice was slightly panicked, "Makoto, I don't want you to worry but, I think, I think- something bad might have happened."

"No, mom it's okay-"

But his plea was cut off as she spoke over him, "The door was already opened when I came over, and the house is a wreck! I went upstairs to check on him but there was no one there. The blankets were thrown on the floor, there was stuff broken, it looks like jewelry was taken. I-I just..." she paused to take a shuddering breath. 

_Wait what?_ The gears in Makoto's mind turning slowly. _That doesn't sound right._ Maybe they weren't thinking about the same house? That couldn't be Haru's house, Haru always keeps it clean. 

"I think it might have been a robbery, or burglary, home invasion maybe....kidnapping," her voice going dimmer as if she were setting down the phone, but at another call from Makoto her voice grew louder again. "I already called Nanase-san and she says she hasn't heard from Haruka in over 3 weeks now. I know he doesn't check in regularly but I thought since he was ill he would have."

Makoto wracked his brain for something to say, _anything_ to say, but he was having a hard time following what she was talking about. It seemed his mom had went to check on Haru, and having not found him, started to panic, but the house being a wreck? Burglary? Kid napping!? How had she jumped to those conclusions? This whole phone call didn't seem real. 

But no matter what, Makoto had to stop her from freaking out before this escalated any further. Maybe just coming clean about the whole Haru situation would be better at this point. _Although...technically he still doesn't know where Haru is...so that part is still true._

Not taking his silence as a good sign, his mom rushed to try and fix the situation. "Don't you worry, I'm going to call the police and...and they'll find him, they will. It's what they do."

"Mom! Wait-" But it was too late. She had hung up before he could get in a word edgewise, escalating the situation beyond his control. His indecisiveness and hesitation being his downfall. 

"Shootshootshootshoot," he muttered to himself as he tried calling his mom back, doing an anxious jig in the sand while he waited, but it just went to voicemail. 

Shoving his phone into his pants pocket, Makoto took off into a run towards home. The sand making it difficult to gain any traction, but the second he hit asphalt he was going as fast as his legs could carry him. 

He could distantly hear his friends calling his name, but it was all overshadowed by the blood pounding in his ears. He had to stop his mom from calling the police. 

He stumbled a little as his foot caught along a crack in the cement, the uneven sidewalk usually being no problem for him, but at that moment he was in too much of a rush to take his steps carefully. He cursed the city for not doing something to fix it for years now. And it only took another couple steps before he cursed the tree branch that whacked the top of his head. 

It was as if the whole universe decided to screw him over in one day. 

But Makoto didn't give up so easily, as he continued on, taking gasping breaths as he started to feel the burn of running a few blocks uphill. 

Maybe he could convince his mom that Haru had went to the swim club for the day. That sounded plausible enough, right? Especially considering it was Haru they were talking about. Even if he was sick he would find a way to water. 

He just needed to make this secret last a little while longer. 

Just a little longer. 

Until he could find Haru and get him back to normal. 

Finally reaching the bottom of the steps, Makoto doubled over, hands tightly clutching his knees as he took in deep gulps of air. The raw feeling of air entering his windpipes leaving him nauseous and seeing stars. 

The stairs looked a lot steeper than usual in his mind as he took the first step, centering himself before pushing up against the force of gravity. 

Ignoring the protests from his legs, he jogged the final distance to his front door, not even bothering to knock as he entered the foyer. 

"Mom! Mom are you in here!?"

He dropped his backpack beside the coat rack as he listened for any response. The blood finally quieting in his ears as his breathing started to settle back to its normal rhythm. 

"Anyone home?" He called out a little desperately. 

_They must still be at Haru's house._

Going back out the front door he had left open in his haste, Makoto caught a glimpse of moment at the bottom of the stairs. Blond, followed by bright red hair came into view, confirming that it was his friends, but he didn't have time to stop and explain, as he turned and took the stairs two at a time. 

He was relieved to find both his parents waiting just outside the entrance to the Nanase residence, his presence not being noticed yet as they were too engrossed talking to each other. But his father was the first to notice Makoto, as he glanced to the side for a second only to double take, nudging his wife to redirect her attention. 

They met each other halfway as his mother ran up to hug him, hands moving to cup his face, "I'm so sorry sweetheart. But it'll be okay I swear, we'll find him."

The glistening of tears in his mothers eyes startled him, instantly making him feel guilty for not telling her the truth and avoiding this whole situation. 

A firm clap of a hand on his shoulder had Makoto looking at his dad next. 

"It's okay son, the police are on their way."

Dread filled every cell of his being, and he could feel himself trembling slightly. He didn't know what to do, which left him a paralyzed sort of state. 

Of course his parents took this as him going into shock, after all, he had just found out that his best friend was possibly _kidnapped_. 

"Mako-chan! What happened!?"

He had never been so relieved in his life to hear Nagisa's voice. 

The other boy's labored breathing could be heard as Makoto turned to face him, his mom letting go of the tight embrace she had previously had him in. 

"Oh! Tachibana-san?" Nagisa sent a questioning look at Makoto, trying to ask what was going on with his eyes. 

"Haru is... Haru is missing," Makoto choked out, not knowing how to word it better. 

He had only seen Nagisa speechless a few times in his life, but it was disconcerting every time. His mouth opening and closing like a fish, without any really words coming out. Various motions were made towards Haru's house and his parents but it was impossible to decipher. The only thing that was clear was the panic in his eyes that was surely reflected back in his own. 

The sound of multiple sets of footsteps approaching seemed to snap Nagisa out of his funk as he blurted, "But Haru-chan can't be missing!"

"Oh Nagisa sweetie," Makoto's mom said while going to wrap Nagisa in a comforting hug. "Nothing is confirmed yet. It's possible everything is fine, but that's what the police will be able to tell us."

"Police?" Nagisa questioned, wiggling out of the tight hug. 

They all turned their attention towards the steps as they heard Kou's voice saying, "Yep, yeah, this is the Nanase residence officer, but, um, I really do think you have the wrong address." 

Coming around the corner next to Kou and Rei was an elderly officer that Makoto vaguely recognized from around town. There were clearly defined wrinkles next to the man's dark brown eyes and just below the nose, a bushy grey mustache in need of trimming. Besides for those distinguishing features he worn the normal police uniform of black pants, blue button down top, and black vest over top. 

"No this is the place, thank you young lady," the officer tipped his hat in respect, walking over to Makoto and his parents, giving Makoto and Nagisa a quick glance before turning his attention to his father. "Tachibana-san?"

"Yes. Thank you for coming so quickly," he extended his hand to shake with the officer. 

"Officer Yamada," he introduced himself, giving a firm handshake before pulling out a notepad. "Now what can you tell me before the rest of the squad arrives to investigate the house? Any information is valuable to the case."

Rei and Kou quietly fell into place beside Makoto and Nagisa, each exchanging questioning and worried looks. The tension in the air so thick you could cut it with a knife. 

Nagisa nudged Makoto in the back, "Mako-chan you have to say something."

"May I ask why the police are even here?" Rei asked in a hushed whisper.

"His parents think Haru-chan is missing!" Nagisa hissed as quietly as possible considering it was Nagisa. 

"He _is_ missing," Kou pointed out. 

"Yeah, well, no one else is suppose to know that though!" Nagisa said. 

"Guys what should I say!?" Makoto asked, trying to keep track of both their conversation and his parents'. "Should I just say he's at the pool? That's believable, right?" 

"Makoto." 

Makoto stiffened as his mom called his name, turning to see Yamada now facing the team. His mother's face expectant, leading him to the conclusion that a question had been asked of him when he wasn't listening. 

The officer, seeing that he now had his attention, asked the question again, "When was the last time you saw your friend, Haruka Nanase?"

His mind running a mile a minute, and the anxiety of facing a figure of authority, forced Makoto to blurt out the first thing that his mind deemed an acceptable answer; the truth. "Y-yesterday."

"What time?"

"Before school."

In his peripheral vision Makoto could see Kou pulling her hair in frustration, and could practically feel Nagisa vibrating with nervous energy. He had to say something to diffuse this situation, but just like during an important question on a test his mind was unhelpfully drawing a blank. 

"But, uh, there is no way Haru was kidnapped, because... that couldn't happen." The officer raised an eyebrow in response, and just like that Makoto had boxed himself into an impossible to escape corner. Opening his mouth had apparently made it worse instead of better. 

"Oh?"

"Ye-yeah, you see, Haru likes to swim, a lot, like a lot a lot, so sometimes he just... swims, so maybe that where he is, swimming, yeah, that's it." Makoto knew what he was saying didn't make much sense anymore, but he couldn't stop once he had started to ramble. 

Beside him, the others stared at him in quiet encouragement, with a hint of pity, obviously not knowing what to say either or they would have jumped in. 

"Do you know where he is then?"

Makoto sucked in a breath, knowing this could make or break the investigation before it got too far. Every nerve in his body tingled with trepidation. He could easily lie and say he knew where Haru was, his friends would back him up. But that would only be a means by which to buy more time. How long before they questioned where Haru was again? How long before the school no longer accepted he absence? They didn't even know where Haru was at the moment, let alone how to get him back to normal. 

He could feel himself shaking slightly, muscles wound up too tight to stay still. 

Makoto felt a gentle hand land on his bicep, and a quiet 'no' come from the redhead beside him. 

He angled his head to look down at Kou, her ponytail swaying as she shook her head at him. She had been thinking the same thing as him, and came to the same conclusion; lying would only cause more problems down the line. 

The officer stepped away from the teens as three more uniformed men showed up with investigation gear packed into bags strapped onto to their backs. Yamada handing the notebook over to the the middle aged man up front, and pointing his thumb in the direction of Haru's house, their words being too far away to make out. 

"WHY would you say no!?" Nagisa practically yelled, before Rei shushed him. 

"It was all we could do," Kou defended herself, looking annoyed but also sounding somewhat uncertain. 

"If they didn't find out today they would find out tomorrow, or the day after that..." Makoto sighed, sounding as defeated as he felt. "She did the right thing Nagisa."

Nagisa looked prepared to argue further, but Rei placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him, "This isn't all bad, we can take advantage of this situation to continue our own search without being questioned. Yes, there will be a lot of explaining to do, once we return Haruka-senpai back to normal, but we will cross that bridge once we get to it." 

"Yeah, okay..." Nagisa deflated. 

What Rei said made sense. But Makoto's brain didn't think logically like his, because _why worry about only one future problem when he could worry about multiple past, present, and future problems all at once?_...Maybe this is why Haru said he worried too much. 

But as the four officers approached the front door alongside his parents, Makoto couldn't help but think his worries weren't unfounded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody! Thanks for reading! Sorry for the slow update, this semester has been busy busy busy. (Basically don't be a Neuro/Bio double major if you want free time haha) 
> 
> Hopefully the build up here was believable ^^" I always try to keep things 'realistic', and let me say, people can be super paranoid and jump to seemingly crazy conclusions, so I don't think it's too far fetched to think Makoto's parents would call the cops. 
> 
> Winter break is starting soon and I have jury duty, which I heard is a bunch of sitting around doing nothing, so I shouldn't take too long with the next update ~ (tho wth, I know middle aged ppl who have never had jury duty in their life and here I am, a college student, getting picked this early)


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